The Hated Bond of Love
by The Singing Hippo
Summary: They come from two different worlds and two different pasts. If joined an unimaginable power would be released, and Voldemort is determined to attain that power, by forcing the pair to marry. Can Hermione and some ancient magic save the day and prevent
1. Chapter 1

Summary: They come from two different worlds and two different pasts of hate. If joined an unimaginable power would be released, and Voldemort is determined to attain that power, by forcing the pair to marry. Can Hermione and some ancient magic save the day and prevent the marriage from taking place? Is Dumbledore hiding an important piece of informantion? What were Blaise and Ginny doing behind the shed over break? Are flashbacks of "Dirty Dancing" and a scene from "Guys and Dolls" appropriate inside the walls of Hogwarts? Is the "Hokey Pokey" really what it's all about? All these questions shall be answered in this tale of love, hate, magic, and a bunch of other things that are absolutely ridiculous.

The Hated Bond of Love

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley all made their way down the long corridor to Dumbledore's office. It was two weeks before the Yule Ball of their seventh year. Hermione was Head Girl that year and she therefore had to spend a lot of time away from her friends. This obstacle only brought the Golden Trio closer together. Besides, since Hermione had her own common room and dorm, that meant that Harry, Ron, and Ginny could come over and talk in privacy. Well, they would have been able to if Draco Malfoy hadn't been chosen as Head Boy. He and Hermione had to share the common room, and their bedrooms were right next door to each other. Therefore, he was constantly around bothering Hermione and making her life positively miserable. However, Hermione fought back, and she had her trusted friends to help her. As the three strolled through the corridor, Draco Malfoy was the conversation topic of choice.

" I cannot believe that he's actually getting away with this!" hissed Hermione, "Marriage has never been allowed between students at Hogwarts since it was founded, It says it in Hogwarts a-"

"History. We know Mione, but Eustacia isn't a student. Maybe that has something to do with it." Said Harry.

"If she was a student I would have been all over her, even if she had been a Slytherin." Muttered Ron.

"God Ron, you really must try to control your hormones." Said Hermione as she shook her head in disgust. Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, at least Malfoy will be occupied with something other than annoying us and torturing our poor Hermione." Said Harry patting his friend on the shoulder.

"I still can't believe it," murmured Hermione, "Malfoy's getting married."

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They stood on the spiral staircase as it moved them in front of a door with the name, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE engraved in gold lettering. Harry opened the door and three students filed in and stood in the back of the room. Dumbledore was standing at his bookcase, running his finger down the spines of various books. His back was to them.

"Please sit down all of you." He said in his comforting old voice. Without even turning around to look at them, or doing anything at all, three chairs appeared in front of his desk. The Golden Trio looked at each other, smiled, and obeyed their Headmaster's orders and took their seats. Dumbledore, having seemed to have found the book he had desired, turned around and smiled warmly at the trio. He sat down at his large desk and looked at the three students sitting across from him through his half-moon shaped glasses.

"Well," He began, placing the book on the desk in front of him, "is there anything going on at the school that any of you would like to address?" He looked at the students expectantly. The trio looked at each other, wondering what Dumbledore was talking about. They turned back to look at him with confused expressions.

"Has anything been, bothering you lately?" he asked staring straight into Hermione's amber eyes, yet addressing all three. Without hesitation Hermione voiced her opinion.

"I cannot understand the logic in giving a student permission to be married while still attending school. It's been in the rules forever and there have never been any exceptions. After hundreds of years, why is the rule being overlooked to favor Draco Malfoy?" she asked calmly, yet obviously frustrated. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled at Hermione and the two boys.

"I actually called you all here to address that specific issue." He said. "Now Miss Granger, I understand that it must be frustrating, after all, a rule is a rule and it must be followed. However, I realize the necessity of this rule to be broken at the present time, yet I never intend for the marriage between Mister Malfoy and Miss Eustacia Lamechante to take place. However, I need your help to prevent it. Particularly one of you." He paused at the expected reaction of surprise from the three students.

"Let me explain, as I must assume you are quite confused at the moment." He said as he looked at the students from across the desk. "Do you know the reason why Mister Malfoy has suddenly decided to be married to a girl he has not known until recently?" The students shook their head, signaling for him to continue.

"He actually had no choice concerning his participation in the forthcoming nuptials. His parents, and the parents of Miss Lamechante were actually the ones to arrange the marriage between the two young people, and even the parents did not really have a choice.

"You know, as well as I that the Malfoy family, regretfully, has connections with Voldemort. The Lamechante family has connections with Voldemort as well. He is the one behind the decision for Mr. Malfoy and Miss Lamechante to marry. Their parents, being loyal servants, gratefully obliged and began to arrange for their children to wed. The Malfoys are a very wealthy and influential family in England, as are the Lamechantes in France. Therefore a marriage between the two pureblood families would be ideal. However, the real reason for the marriage goes back long before then.

"Three hundred years ago, a French soothsayer had a prophecy that two people from two different worlds and two different pasts of hate would be born. He predicted that when and if they joined together, an unimaginable power would be released. The power that the couple would possess would be capable of either great good or great evil.

"Eighteen years ago another prophecy was made by the great-great-granddaughter of the soothsayer. She said the couple that her ancestor had predicted would come into being. The boy would be born a Malfoy, and the girl was going to be born on the 6 of December.

"Eustacia was born on that day, and Draco is obviously the son of his father. They come from two different worlds, meaning France and England. And although France and England are allies now, they have a long history of combat on the muggle and wizarding side. Knowing of these two prophesies, Voldemort wants the two young people to be married and he can use their powers for his cause."

He waited for all of this to sink into the students' brains. They stared at him with amazed looks on their faces. He continued,

"We obviously do not want this to occur, and that is why I need your help, yours in particular Miss Granger. Have you ever heard of a bond binding spell?" Hermione nodded her head.

"Yes sir, but they're very difficult spells to perform, and no one has the true incantation…" Hermione trailed off as Dumbledore opened to a page in the book he had found earlier and pushed it across the desk so that it was in front of her. On the page was a very old and complicated incantation. She looked at it, and then looked at Dumbledore.

"You want me to…" she trailed off again staring up at the old man with I wonderment. "No," she said getting up from her chair and taking an unsteady step backwards, "You can't possibly expect me to bind myself to Draco Malfoy." Dumbledore looked at her and sighed.

"Miss Granger, I realize that you and Mister Malfoy have a long history of hate between you, but we're talking about things more important than you or I." Harry and Ron had absolutely no idea what the other two were talking about. Harry looked over at the book and motioned for Ron to do the same. They both began to read the page.

_The Bond Binding Spell._

_The bond binding spell is a complicated incantation that binds one person to another. It is not a physical bond, but almost like a betrothal. Certain preparations must be made and certain requirements must be met before the use of the incantation. Once the incantation is read, the people who are to be bound together must kiss sometime in the 6 hours after the spell. If the kiss is not performed, the incantation cannot be used again, and no other binding spell can be used on either person. If the spell is successfully carried out, neither person may marry or have relations with any other person than the one they are bound to. Even previous legal betrothals and engagements can be broken with this spell._

Harry and Ron looked at each other with shocked expressions. Ron shot out of his chair and slammed both hands down on the desk.

"I will not allow my Hermione, who is like a sister to me, marry Draco Malfoy to prevent him from marrying the French chick!" he shouted. Dumbledore chuckled at Ron's outburst, but then became serious again.

"This is exactly why I called all three of you to my office to discuss this now rather than have Hermione have to tell you what I am proposing. I realize that this is a huge sacrifice to make, and very difficult to comprehend, but you must understand that a marriage between Mister Malfoy and Miss Lamechante would result in an unthinkable amount of power, all in the hands of Voldemort. That kind of power in his hand combined with his own would mean almost certain death to all who stand in his way." The three students looked at him realizing that they would be three that Voldemort would deem as "in his way."

"Why me?" asked Hermione. Dumledore sighed sadly and looked at her pleadingly.

"Miss Granger, you are one of the brightest, most powerful witches of your age, nonetheless incredibly trustworthy. You fit all the requirements, and after considering all the choices I had, you were the only one suitable for this kind of mission. You stood out from the rest as being able to handle a situation such as this. This is totally your choice. You may refuse it if you wish, but I will advise you that the consequences that could occur if a marriage between Miss Lamenchante and Mister Malfoy was carried out would be…unfathomable."

Hermione's mind was racing. She knew that although Dumbledore said she had a choice, she really didn't. She knew that if Voldemort was able to obtain that kind of power, the world would be his. She couldn't live with the guilt that she could have prevented it if something like that happened. She could not comprehend living the rest of her life bound to Draco Malfoy, but who said she actually had to marry him? She just couldn't marry anyone else. She sighed to herself.

_Oh well _she thought_ it's not like I'll ever get married anyway._ She raised her eyes to lock with her Headmaster's.

"I'll do it." She muttered. Dumbledore took her hands into his and looked at her with the utmost gratitude.

"Miss Granger, I promise you it will all work out in the end. Thank you so much. If you succeed at creating the bind, you will have saved our entire world." With that he got up from his chair. The three students followed suit. Just as they were about to turn to go, Dumbledore extended the book to Hermione. It was still opened to the page with the incantation.

"Tonight would be the ideal time to perform the incantation." He said looking at her with his twinkling blue eyes.

"I'll do it tonight sir." She said taking the book from him. Dumbledore nodded his head and smiled at her

"Good luck Miss Granger."

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"Wait, could you please say that again, I don't quite understand." Said Ginny Weasley as she sat with Hermione on the couch in the Head's common room later on that night. Hermione sighed and looked around the room to make sure that they were alone.

"If Malfoy marries this Eustacia girl, Voldemort will get a ton of power. I can prevent that from happening if I bind myself to Malfoy by using the incantation I just said a few moments ago. The incantation will cancel their engagement without them even realizing it. When they try to get married, it won't work because he will already be, well, in a sense, claimed by me." Stated Hermione. Ginny sighed,

"I wish I could claim Draco Malfoy." Hermione shook her head as Ginny giggled at her own dirty joke. "Well, he is THE cutest boy at Hogwarts." She said defensively. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's not about looks Gin. He's a horrible person." Hermione said, contempt shining through her eyes from just thinking about him.

"I bet he's a good kisser though." Chuckled Ginny. Hermione smiled and shook her head.

"I'll be the judge of that." She joked. Ginny laughed and got up from the couch.

"I better be off Hermione, I've got to meet some one in the Gryffindor common

room." Hermione looked at her friend suspiciously.

"You wouldn't be meeting a BOY, would you Gin?" asked Hermione, knowing full well that her friend was probably meeting a boy. Ginny just shrugged her shoulders and smiled innocently. Hermione laughed as her friend skipped out the door and into the corridor just as Eustacia and Draco came down the spiral staircase from upstairs.

"I will meet you at the Great Hall at exactly eight o'clock Saturday morning. Do you understand." Eustacia barked with her incredibly heavy French accent. Draco nodded and rolled his eyes. She glared at him and pointed an accusing, yet perfectly manicured, finger at him.

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me Monsieur Malfoy! I will not tolerate your insufferable attitude!" Draco looked at her innocently.

"Of course not love." He said, raising a hand to stroke her cheek. She batted it away and gave him her hand instead. Draco looked incredibly disappointed, but kissed her hand like a gentleman should.

"Saturday at eight o'clock sharp. I will not wait for you if you are late. I'll just go shopping for decorations myself." She said turning around and waltzing out the door.

"Right." Muttered Draco as he flopped down on the couch across from Hermione. He placed his head in his hands and began muttering under his breath. Hermione took in a deep breath. She only had six hours to complete the spell. She might as well try now. She took a second to compose herself and get herself ready to play the part. She snorted and began to chuckle. Draco lifted his head and glared at her.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" he asked his stone gray eyes piercing hers. She smiled and looked at him sympathetically.

"You poor thing," she said taking a piece of her curly brunette hair and twirling it between her fingers, "She's already got you on a chain." She laughed and shook her head. "I mean, you're not even married yet." She laughed again, waiting for an angry reaction from Draco. He narrowed his eyes at her, scrunching up his handsome features in a look of disbelief.

"Whatever Mudblood, at least I actually have some one of the opposite sex, unlike so many unfortunate frumpish people, yourself included." He said smirking at her evilly. That remark stung her, but she didn't let it show.

"Keep telling yourself that Malfoy, but I actually think that it is Miss Eustacia that _has_ you. She's obviously the dominant one in your relationship." Hermione sighed, "Poor Malfoy, once a Slytherin Sex God, now a submissive little ferret-face." Malfoy got up from the couch and stood over her.

"That's not true," he retorted, "I still do whatever the hell I want, with who ever the hell I want." Hermione choked on laughter again and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. She looked at the man looming over her. Ginny hadn't been lying when she said that he was the hottest boy at Hogwarts. His platinum blond hair fell to the top of his ears. It was perfectly straight, and a few strands hung in front of his stormy stone gray eyes. He was tall and had very nice muscles. His skin was a flawless alabaster.

_Well,_ she thought to herself _at least I'll make all the girls jealous when I tell them that I kissed him._

"Right, you do whatever the hell you want. You don't want to be with a different girl every night now? Hmmm, this is an interesting change of behavior." Hermione said in a mocking voice. Draco shook his head and began to walk away. Hermione smiled inwardly, she had finally bothered him enough that he was actually retreating. This would have been a good thing any other night, but she needed him to stick a round for a little bit longer.

"Draco Malfoy, the chained man. Never allowed to sleep with, snog, touch, or kiss another woman again." She said giggling to herself. He kept walking but said something over his shoulder,

"I could do any of those things right now if I wanted to." He snorted. Hermione took a deep breath, this was it.

"Prove it then." She smirked. Draco was about to climb the stairs when he heard that. Instead, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. He looked at Hermione like she was crazy.

"What was that Granger?" he asked walking back over to her. Hermione's smirk widened.

"I said prove it." She repeated standing up and locking her eyes with his. Draco looked down at her. She definitely was not the frump girl she once had been. She had learned to tame her hair so that it would hang in soft ringlets. Her hair hung about four inches beyond her shoulder. Her eyes were a shocking amber color and her skin was a soft tan. She had filled out nicely. She wasn't a super model, but she was well proportioned. All in all, she was an attractive young woman. Draco shook his head at her and started to turn around.

"Like I would ever kiss you Mudblood…ha! In your dreams." He spat. Hermione smirked horribly at him.

"What a coward." She muttered as he turned his back to her. "Afraid to kiss a Mudblood. What is it ferret? Frightened that I might dirty your blood?" she laughed and continued, her eyes burning with contempt as she stared at the back of his head. "Honestly, Purebloods obviously aren't as strong or durable as they claim to be if one kiss from a mudblood destroys their purity." She paused for a moment and saw that Draco's shoulders were shaking with rage. _Good, _she thought _one more straw to break the camel's back._

"Or is it because Malfoy is already controlled by his bride-to-be, and she would beat his poor little brains out if he ever does anything she doesn't want him to. First, your father and now your future wife. God Malfoy, have you ever done anything that goes against what they say? Well, have fun being restricted by a dainty little French woman for the rest of your life. You are such a wimp, you know that? You don't even have the guts to kiss a filthy little mudbl-" Hermione was cut off by Draco smashing his lips down onto hers.

Draco's POV:

_That will put her in her place_ thought Draco as he snaked his arms around her waist. Just as he did so, he felt warm shivers rush through his blood. He thought it was strange, but that thought was wiped out of his mind by Hermione moving her arms around his neck. _What the hell is she doing? _He asked himself. He suddenly realized that Hermione wasn't really that bad of a kisser. She wasn't amazing, but at the same time he found that he was actually enjoying the kiss. _That's just because I haven't been able to go near a woman other than Eustacia for the past two months. _He told himself, which reminded him of what Hermione had said. _Stupid Mudblood_ he muttered in his mind.

Hermione's POV:

_Oh God,_ she thought to herself,_ it's all over. I'll never get a boyfriend, I'll never get engaged, I'll never get married, I'll never have kids…I always wanted kids. Maybe I can just ask Malfoy to knock me up and…oh God, what am I saying._ She suddenly felt a strange tingling sensation run through her veins. She also realized that Draco had wrapped his arms around her waist. She didn't really realize what she was doing, but she slid her arms up around his neck. It was like an involuntary response. _Wow, _she thought, _he really is a good kisser. Too bad the only boy I ever kissed was Victor…Nice boy, but not good at kissing at all. Draco will probably think I'm a horrible kisser. Oh well, what's one more thing he can mock me with. Wait a tick, did I just think of him as "Draco," not as "Malfoy?" Oh God…what is this world coming to._

Suddenly Draco pulled away. He pushed Hermione back onto the couch and smirked down at her.

"Proved ya wrong Mudblood." He hissed. Hermione glared back at him. He just laughed at her and walked up the spiral staircase to his room, leaving Hermione alone in the common room. She sighed and stared at the ceiling. She had just saved the wizarding world from almost certain destruction, but somehow, she didn't feel like celebrating. She looked towards the spiral staircase and mumbled to herself,

"You might be laughing now Draco Malfoy, but just you wait…just you wait."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey people! I don't own anything except Eustacia and the plot. Um...what else am I supposed to say? Oh, the rating is M because it implies stuff, but fear not, procreation shall not be described in great detail on these humble pages. Also, this story is absolutely ridiculous, or at least some of the things that happen in it, and I realize that they would never actually happen in the true Harry Potter series. Alright...that's about it for now. Review if you please!

Chapter 2

Hermione woke up the next day feeling miserable. She hadn't slept well at all. She got up and trudged into the bathroom and tussled her semi-wet curls from her shower the night before. She decided to straighten her hair today, and wear some make-up. She didn't usually bother, but today she felt like it.

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Draco woke up feeling drained. He kept having nightmares about his father and Voldemort and having to marry that stupid French slut. He really did not want to marry her because, one: he would have to put an end to his rockin' good times as a bachelor; two: she was a little French slut, and although Draco loves his sluts, he really did not want to marry one, it would look bad; three: the whole evil power thing kind of freaked him out. I mean he is only seventeen and the whole world-domination, kill-all-the-impure thing is kind of hard to handle when you're struggling with your own hormone fluctuations. Yes, Draco was not a nice person, and he liked it that way, but an evil murderer set on gaining the world for someone else to rule…he wasn't so sure about that. He got up, showered, threw on his clothes and headed down to the great hall. It was going to be a long day.

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When Hermione entered the Great Hall, she could pick out a grinning Ginny. She came over to sit between Ginny and Lavender Brown, who was in an involved in an intense conversation with Seamus Finnegan…ok…maybe more like a make-out session, but whatever. Harry and Ron were sitting across from Ginny and Hermione, discussing the latest trades in professional quidditch. They stopped and gave all their attention to Hermione when she came and sat down. Harry and Ron looked like they were going to die from suspense,

"Well?" asked Harry, hoping to God that his friend had decided at the last minute not to bind herself to his worst enemy.

"It's all done. It worked. Or at least I think it did. We won't really be able to know until they try to get married over break. All I know is that I did everything right." Hermione mumbled pouring herself some orange juice. Ginny still looked like she was on the edge of her seat. She looked at Hermione with wide eyes.

"Well?" she asked. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Draco Malfoy is an incredibly good kisser." Ginny giggled at Hermione's response.

"I thought so!" she exclaimed triumphantly. Hermione shook her head and looked down at her breakfast. It was going to be a long day.

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Draco trudged through the hall towards the transfiguration room. Dumbledore had called both the Heads for a meeting about the Yule Ball, so Draco got to skip History of Magic. Unfortunately, he also had to go fetch Hermione from Transfiguration. He threw open the door without even knocking and sauntered over to Hermione's desk. Professor Macgonnagal had been in the middle of a lesson and did not look too happy to have been interrupted. Hermione glared at Draco.

"What are you doing here?" she spat through gritted teeth. Draco smirked at her, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from her seat. Hermione wriggled around in his grip as Draco turned to Professor Macgonnagal.

"Excuse me professor, but Miss Granger and I have a meeting with Professor Dumbledore concerning the Yule Ball." he said politely. Macgonnagal sighed and waved her hand for the two students to exit the room. Draco made a sarcastic bow and dragged a struggling Hermione out of the room.

Once outside the class room, he let go of her arm and began to walk back down the corridor towards the Headmaster's office. Hermione rubbed her arm as she jogged to catch up with him.

"Do you know why Dumbledore called the meeting?" she asked as she came up along side him.

"How should I know? Do you think I can read the old coot's mind? Not like I'd want to…he's strange that one." he said with a look of disgust plastered on his face.

"You shouldn't say that," said Hermione, "He was the one who bent the rules so that you could marry your beloved Eustacia and stay in school." Draco spun around and pinned her against the wall in one swift movement.

"First off, she is not my 'beloved Eustacia', she's means nothing to me. Second, I never wanted to marry her, so I would not thank the idiot for changing the rules. I was hoping that he wouldn't change the rules so that I wouldn't have to marry the bitch. But, he did, so now I'm stuck marrying a stupid French girl who won't even let me near her." his eyes were full of hate as they bore into hers. Hermione was actually frightened. However, she wouldn't let him see that.

"God Malfoy, some one's in a bad mood. I just assumed that when people get married they usually love each other. But then again, who could ever love some one as repulsively evil as yourself?" she asked smirking at him. Draco shot her a sarcastic look.

"Don't make assumptions Mudblood, you'll never learn anything." he spat as he shoved her into the wall and walked away to the door. Hermione stood there for a while and then followed after him.

_Poor guy, I wonder what it would be like to be stuck to one person that you didn't even love for the rest of your life…_ she thought to herself, _Oh wait, I do know how it feels, because I already am. God I hate that asshole._

They reached the gargoyle, muttered the password and made their way up to Dumbledore's office.

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Draco ignored Hermione's presence as they entered the room. He went directly to Dumbledore's desk and sat down. Hermione still looked around the office for any sign of the Headmaster's presence. She didn't see him anywhere, but saw Fawkes sitting up on his perch. She went over to him and stroked his head. She didn't want to sit down yet. She wanted to wait until she was asked, she thought it was rather rude of Draco to just go sit down. Fawkes sat there contentedly as she stroked his scarlet plumes. Hermione could feel Draco's eyes on her. It felt like his look was burning into the back of her skull. She could see his stone gray eyes gazing at her in the reflection of Fawkes eyes. After a few minutes, it got to be annoying.

"You know it is quite rude to stare, even if the person can't see you staring at them." she muttered with her back still turned to him. Draco shook himself out of his trance and glared at her.

"Do you have eyes in the back of your bloody head Granger?" he asked leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up on the desk. Hermione spun around and glared at him.

"No." she said walking over to him and pushing his feet off the desk, "I can just sense it when some one is being incredibly rude." Draco snickered and put his feet back on the desk.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want Mudblood and I believe I already proved that last night." he said smirking. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "Care for a reminder?" Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and walked behind his chair letting her hand trail along the back of it.

"Wait," she said, a mischievous twinkle forming in her eye, "Did you just say that you wanted to kiss me?" Draco turned his head to glare at her.

"No," he spat, "I said that I'll-"

"Do whatever the hell you want, yes I heard that." interrupted Hermione, "And then you said that you had proved that last night, therefore implying that you wanted to kiss me." She looked into Draco's cloudy gray eyes for a reaction. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. She had got him there.

"You know I didn't mean that-"

"Ah, Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy, a bit earlier than I had expected." said Dumbledore as he traveled down the stairs from the mezzanine level of his office. "Please sit down Miss Granger." Draco quickly moved his feet off the desk as Hermione took the seat next to him. She kept wondering how Dumbledore got there, since he wasn't there but a minute ago. Dumbledore glided down the steps and sat in the large chair across from the two bonded enemies.

"As you both know, the Yule ball is but a week away, and we still have a lot of planning to do." said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling happily. Draco rolled his eyes discreetly.

"It wouldn't be that way if this school wasn't so bloody unorganized." he mumbled under his breath. Hermione kicked him hard in the shins for that comment. Draco's eyes bulged with shock and anger.

"Are you alright Mister Malfoy?" asked Dumbledore, fully aware of everything Draco said and Hermione's kick. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he looked down at Head Boy through his half moon glasses.

"No, perfectly fine, professor." he muttered as he sent Hermione a death glare. She simply smirked at him and turned her attention back to the Headmaster. For some reason Hermione was no longer afraid of Draco. Perhaps it was because she knew she was bonded to him, or perhaps it was the fact that she actually _was_ bonded to him that provoked this sudden change in attitude. Draco didn't really notice though, he was too arrogant to notice anything.

"I just wanted to remind you of the tradition that the head's have the first dance of the evening at the Yule ball. I expect that tradition to be carried out, although I realize that you are engaged Mister Malfoy. It is only _one_ dance after all." said Dumbledore, anticipating a bad reaction from Malfoy.

"You expect me to dance with Granger?" Draco spat in disgust hurling a dirty look at Hermione. Dumbledore rolled his eyes.

"Please Mister Malfoy, remain calm. No one is asking you to spend the rest of your life stuck to Miss Granger." Hermione could have sworn Dumbledore sent her a sideways glance as he said this, but if he did, it went unnoticed by Draco. Hermione chuckled inwardly.

_I can't wait till Draco finds out. _She thought to herself, _He'll go absolutely ballistic. _She smiled at this thought until Dumbledore's voice brought her back to reality.

"I'm also allowing for you both to skip classes all next week to prepare for the dance. You will not be allowed to leave your common room and dorms, as you need to concentrate on the task at hand and nothing else."

Hermione looked like she was going to have an aneurysm. Draco looked extremely pleased with himself. He glanced over at Hermione and let out a low chuckle. Her face was priceless.

"Professor…" she stuttered, "A week? Missing a week? Of classes? Is that the best thing?" she asked, her eyes wide with horror. Dumbldore smiled at her.

"No my dear, but it is necessary. You may both go back to your classes now as I am sure you will want to get all your work for the next week to do it over the weekend." he said to the two students. Hermione nodded and muttered a 'thank you' as she scuttled out of the room in a hurry to get her work from Macgonnagal. Draco muttered a "Thank you, sir," and followed Hermione out of the office.

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Draco walked up next to Hermione and sent her an amused glance.

"Why on earth are you so anxious to get back to class," he asked, "Oh yes, there's nothing more important to you than schoolwork. How_ could _I forget?" he drawled. Hermione simply rolled her eyes and ignored him. Draco looked at her as they walked down the hall, waiting for some smart comeback or witty remark, but all he received was silence.

"Are you ignoring me, Mudblood?" he asked, a smirk forming on his handsome face. Hermione continued to look straight ahead and said nothing.

_She can't ignore me! _he thought to himself_ I'll just have to aggravate her even more_. Draco then began to laugh hysterically and pointed at Hermione. She turned to glare at him and saw him hunched over, in pain from laughing so hard.

"What on earth is it that you think is so amusing?" she barked at him. He suddenly stopped laughing and straightened up. He smirked at her.

"See, you can't ignore me Granger, I won't let you." he said as he walked down the corridor ahead of her. "I just think it's funny that after 7 years you've finally run out of comebacks. Thank you for letting me win." he said over his shoulder in a mocking tone. Hermione clenched her fists and was about to retort with something when the bell rang. She suddenly came back to reality and rushed to the Transfiguration room to get her homework for the upcoming week.

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Hermione stumbled into the Head's common room, carrying a dozen books in her arms. She hurried over to the nearest coffee table and dropped them all down loudly, signaling her presence to any one in the near vicinity. She leaned on the couch for a few moments to catch her breath. She sighed, repositioned her bag over her shoulder and picked up the books again. She walked across the room and began the long ascent upstairs to her room.

"Bloody spiral staircase." she mumbled as she struggled up step by step. She was three quarters of the way up when she smacked into something. She yelped in surprise and tilted her head around her mountainous pile of books to see Draco standing in her way. The staircase was too narrow for both of them to pass each other.

"Malfoy, could you please back up so I could get through?" Draco smirked and shook his head at her. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Malfoy I'm already most of the way up the stairs, could you _please_ back up!" she asked, obviously flustered. Draco simply yawned, leaned up against the banister and crossed his arms over his well-defined chest.

Suddenly, one of the books on the top of the massive stack began to slide off. Draco smirked as Hermione struggled to balance the books so that the one sliding off would slide back to its original spot. Draco poked at one of the books in the middle and that one began to slide out from under the pile in the opposite direction.

In an effort to save the books from almost certain destruction, Hermione lost her balance. She screamed as she instinctively let go of all her books and her bag and began to fall backwards down the stairs. Draco instantly reached out and grabbed her around the waist to prevent her from killing herself by falling. He held her with one arm and retained a firm grip on the banister in case he lost his balance. Hermione threw her arms around his neck in order to steady herself.

They both suddenly felt an electric shock run through both their bodies. It went away just as quickly as it came, but was replaced by a different feeling. It was like a dull magnetic pull, attracting the two opposites towards each other.

"Do you feel that?" whispered Draco as he involuntarily drew Hermione's body closer to his own.

Hermione nodded her head as she impulsively moved her face closer to Draco's. He lifted his stony gray eyes to meet with her bright amber orbs. He suddenly had the urge to kiss her. Even though he wished to look away, he found it physically impossible to move his gaze from hers.

Neither of them could think of anything but the other.

_Why do I want to kiss the stupid Mudblood? It's like I don't have any control over my feelings or actions, otherwise I could just let her fall. _Just as Draco thought this he tried to loosen his grip around Hermione's waist, but found that it had the opposite affect. He was now holding her so close that they both could feel the other's heart beating.

_It must be the spell, _thought Hermione as she found herself getting lost in Draco's eyes, _I must have done it really well because all I can think about is Draco…and kissing him…_

Draco felt his lips being drawn to hers by some invisible force, although, he wasn't actually trying to fight the force.

_Oh well, _he thought, _It's a girl, who cares if it's a mudblood._ And with that thought he captured Hermione's lips with his own.

_Is he actually kissing me? _She asked herself. As she was pondering this, she felt Draco gently force his tongue into her mouth. _Oh yeah, he is definitely kissing me. _

_This is great _thought Draco as Hermione began to play with his platinum blond hair _I'm actually enjoying kissing the mudblood, just bloody brilliant. What's next? A nice long shag…oh crap…shouldn't have thought that. _

"You really ought to be more careful mudblood," he whispered in her ear, "It's not a good idea to fall back on the stairs. If you _are _going to fall backwards, try to do it on something soft…like a bed." he purred. Hermione shivered.

"Are you coming on to me Ferret?" she asked as he led a trail of kisses down her neck. "Wow, you really _are _getting desperate for anything to satisfy your hormones, aren't you?" Draco pulled away from her for a moment. His intense gaze traveled over her. He smirked and brought his powerful gray eyes to match her amber ones.

"Apparently not _that _desperate." he cooed. Hermione looked at him strangely, obviously confused. Draco lifted her up and flung her over his shoulder. Hermione was so caught off guard that it didn't really register in her mind what he was doing. He carried her all the way up the stairs, and walked over in the direction of her room.

"Draco Malfoy!" she yelled as he kicked her door open and glided into her room. "What on earth are you doing!" He only chuckled at her and plopped her down onto her bed. He took a few steps back and looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"You were going up the stairs, I assumed your final destination would be your room." he said as he turned and walked back out of the room, closing the door behind him. Hermione stared after him with a dazed expression etched into her features.

She shook her head to rid her mind of the jumbled thoughts filling it and tried to remember why she was coming up the stairs in the first place. She remembered wanting to get all her school work for the next week done. She smiled, but then the smile faded away and was replaced with a frown.

"I need my books."

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AN: Blue Kat, did I fix the punctuation problem? Oh and constructive criticism is welcomed...I encourage it. And praise as well of course!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! They definitely encourage me to keep going! Warning: this chapter contains ridiculous content. I said it in the summary and I'm warning you now. If any of you aren't familiar with the musical Guys and Dolls, then one part of this chapter probably won't seem that relevant...and it's not! So don't worry! It's just ridiculous. But then again, a Draco/Hermione pairing is somewhat ridiculous in the first place. But I still love it anyway! And so ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...

Chapter 3

Draco walked down to the Great Hall the next day for breakfast. He had to meet Eustacia to pick out the décor for their wedding and reception. He sat down at the Slytherin table next to his friend Blasie Zambini.

"What up jackass?" muttered Blaise as he gazed at the Daily Prophet. Draco shook his head and grabbed a glass of orange juice in front of him.

"Meeting the bitch to go shopping for decorations." Replied Draco. Blaise snorted in response.

"That sucks man." Said Blaise as he grabbed a muffin from a basket in the middle of the table.

"Blaise!" cried Pansy Parkinson from across the table, "I was just about to put that muffin on my plate!" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, giving her the look of a kicked puppy. Blaise shrugged his shoulders.

"You wouldn't have eaten it anyway." He said as he took a bite out of it. Pansy opened her mouth to say something, paused for a moment, and lifted her hand to her chin as if in deep thought.

"You're right." She said as if coming upon some great discovery. "I never eat anything…huh. Gosh Blaise, you're so smart!" she chirped. "What did you say I was again?" she asked. Blaise looked over the top of his paper and raised an eyebrow.

"You know," continued Pansy, "Some one who never eats anything. What's that called again." She asked.

"Oh," Blaise answered as he returned his gaze to the paper, "Anorexic."

"That's right." Pansy said cheerily, "I'm anorexic. I keep forgetting. Thanks for reminding me Blaise! Have fun shopping with Stacie, Draco!" she squealed happily as she hopped out of her chair and skipped out of the hall.

"Stacie?" asked Draco as he turned back to Blaise.

"Yeah." Answered Blaise, "Apparently your little bitch is making friends with all the Slytherin girls. Since you were 'the king' I guess they've all adopted her as their 'queen.'" Said Blaise as he took another bite of muffin. Draco leaned back in his seat.

"What do you think of all this, Blaise. The whole Eustacia thing?" asked Draco as he stared at the threshold leading to the entrance hall. Blaise swallowed his food and shook his head in a disapproving way,

"I find it all rather disgusting mate." Draco laughed at his friend's response, but his laughter ceased when he saw Eustacia standing by the entrance of the great hall.

"See ya later, mate. The bitch has arrived." Said Draco, reluctantly vacating his seat. Blaise nodded.

"Later chum." He said as he turned a page in the paper. Draco shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe your actually reading the paper." Said Draco as he smirked at his friend. Blaise looked at Draco in surprise.

"No man, I'm reading the personal ads, they're funny as hell." chuckled Blaise as he turned his attention back to his reading. Draco laughed and muttered a,

"Whatever mate," as he strolled across the room to meet his fiancée.

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Ginny elbowed Hermione in the stomach as they sat at the Gryfinndoor table during breakfast.

"Your lover is leaving." She said, nodding her head towards Draco, who was walking across the room to meet Eustacia. Hermione looked in the direction that Ginny had indicated and the moment her eyes fell upon him, he turned his head and looked right back at her. Hermione jumped a little, and Draco seemed to be surprised as well. It was a bit odd that they both happened to look at each other the exact same second. Draco quickly turned away and pretended like nothing happened. Hermione shivered and turned back to Ginny. Ginny had the biggest grin plastered across her face.

"Mione! He was totally checking you out!" she squealed as she gave her friend a huge hug. Hermione sighed.

"Gin, honestly, he just happened to look at me. He was not checking me out, although after last night…" she trailed off and shook her head. Ginny perked up.

"After last night? After last night? After last night, what?" asked the excited redhead. "Oh my God! Did you sleep with him?" she screeched.

"God Ginny!" yelped Hermione and placing a hand over her friend's mouth, although no one seemed to notice the last comment made. "No Gin, but he did…" she trailed off again.

"He did what? He did what?" asked Ginny as if she was going to have a heart attack if she didn't find out that instant.

"He kissed me again…french kissed actually." Said Hermione, her face turning red. Ginny's jaw dropped. She stared at Hermione with wide eyes.

"And then he carried me up to my room, but that was it." She finished, looking at Ginny, praying that she would make some sort of response. Ginny's mouth slowly closed into a large smirk.

"The whole school should hear about this." She murmured, her green eyes gleaming with revenge.

"Oh no Gin…" started Hermione. Ginny grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her.

"Don't you see Mione? This could be the _perfect _revenge." Hermione could tell from the look in Ginny's eyes that she was already plotting something.

"Ginny, no, I-" began Hermione, but Ginny cut her off,

"Please Mione! We could finally put Malfoy in his place!" Ginny pleaded with big puppy dog eyes, Hermione looked at her sternly.

"No Ginny," she said. Ginny looked like her dreams had been crushed. "At least not yet." Hermione added. With those words, Ginny lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Wait until after the dance," ordered Hermione, "I'm stuck with Malfoy in our dorms for all of next week, so I really don't want to have to deal with him angry at me. Wait till after the dance, Ginny, then we'll let the rumors fly."

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"What do you think of this one?" asked Eustacia holding up a blue piece of ribbon. Draco nodded and waved his hand at it as he looked out the window of the shop. Eustacia placed her hands on her hips and shot up from the table they were sitting at.

"Draco Malfoy, this is _your _wedding, you could at least pretend like you were interested!" she shouted with her heavy French accent. Draco slowly turned his head to look at the fuming girl in front of him.

"Ok," he muttered, "I'm pretending." Eustacia threw her hands up in the air in frustration and leaned across the table, glaring into Draco's gray eyes.

"We're doing this for the Dark Lord, remember?" she hissed under her breath, "We should be honored that he asked us-"

"Asked us what? To get married at the age of seventeen? Give him all the power we gain? What do I get out of it?" he spat back at her. Eustacia glared at him,

"Power, honor, self-worth -" She began, but Draco cut in once again.

"How do I gain self-worth by throwing my life away!" he shouted at her. Eustacia looked shocked, but soon regained a calm composure. She stood up to her full height and stuck her chin in the air. She looked down at him arrogantly.

"Are you _sure _you meant that?" she questioned twirling the engagement ring on her finger. Draco glared at her but said nothing. Eustacia walked up next to him and leaned her head down next to his.

"I would be careful what you say to me Mr. Malfoy. I would hate to have your father or the Dark Lord himself angry at you for something you had said to upset me." She snarled quietly. Draco was suddenly mentally slapping himself.

_I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said that. _He smiled weakly at Eustacia. She shot him an evil condescending look and stomped out of the shop. Draco waited until she was gone before following. He walked out of the shop and saw her headed towards the train station, which was his destination as well. Instead he went in the opposite direction, leading to the rather, less-fortunate area of wizarding London.

_People might say it's not the greatest path to take,_ he thought to himself, _But it's the best path for me. _

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Hermione was stretched out on the couch reading "Hogwarts a History" for the 612th time. She also had a discman on her head. Although Hermione was a witch, she still enjoyed some of the little muggle things in life. She was listening to Liz Phair, "Extraordinary," and was humming along. Hermione had never been a good singer, but she loved music anyway. She began to sing along softly and then crescendoed at the refrain just as Draco walked in the room.

"I am extraordinary if you ever get to know me. I am extraordinary, I am just your ordinary, average, everyday, sane, psycho, super-godess. Average, everyday, sane, psycho, super-goddess." Draco smirked. Hermione sounded ridiculous and he needed something to torture her with. He snuck up behind her and gently pulled the headphones off of her ears. He placed his face next to hers and whispered in her ear,

"I will not argue the fact that you are psycho, but I must inform you that you are a terrible singer." He smirked triumphantly. He waited for her to get flustered and try to hex him or run out of the room crying, but what Hermione did was the last thing he ever thought she would do.

Hermione started to laugh. Draco stepped back, almost frightened. He jumped in front of the couch so that he was looking down at her. She smiled and shook her head sympathetically.

"Nice try Malfoy, but I know I'm not a good singer." She said and she moved to place the headphones back over her ears. Draco snatched them out of her hands and looked at her confusedly.

"If you're not good, then why do you sing in the first place mudblood? Aren't you _afraid_ of what people will think." He hissed condescendingly. Hermione grabbed her headphones back.

"No," she spat, "I could really care less." And with that she placed the headphones back on her head and returned her gaze to the page in front of her. Draco tried to think of something to say back to her, but found himself speechless. He had never received that response before, from anyone.

_How could she **not** care? Every one cares about what people think of them, it's human nature. She must be lying…_Suddenly Draco knew what to say. He smirked broadly.

"Prove it then." He said staring at her with his stony eyes. Hermione's eyes shot up from the page and darted over to lock with Draco's. She ripped of her headphones and stared at him in disbelief.

"What was that Malfoy?" she asked looking at him like he was crazy. His smirk widened and his eyes glinted mischievously.

"I said prove it." He purred. Hermione stared up at him. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"How exactly do I prove that?" she growled back at him. Draco chuckled and smiled at her condescendingly. Hermione had an odd feeling that she would regret asking him that.

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It was Sunday. Hermione and Draco's last day of freedom before being locked away in the Head Quarters to work on the dance.

Eustacia was sitting at the Slytherin table talking to Pansy and Millicent Bulstroud. It was about halfway through dinner before she realized that Draco was no longer at her side. She darted her gaze around the hall for any sight of her unworthy fiancée, but could not catch any sign of him. She shrugged and continued her conversation with the group of Slytherins around her.

Two tables over, Harry, Ron and Ginny seemed to be having the same predicament, only, Hermione hadn't shown up for dinner at all.

"If she doesn't show up in ten more minutes, I'm going to go check on her." Muttered Ron as he took a gulp of pumpkin juice. Harry nodded in agreement as his gaze drifted over to the entrance of the great hall into the entrance hall and out through the windows beyond.

In the left hand corner of the hall, two figures stood hunched over, as if plotting some evil deed. Yet, upon closer examination one would see that is was simply the two Heads of Hogwarts. Hermione was fixing a blond wig unto her head and shifted a pink American showgirl style dress from the 1930s. She had a black satin robe hanging over her shoulders and she was clutching an old book in her hands.

"Ok," started Draco, "So, I go in, announce you, and then you enter, and I'll start the music." Hermione nodded as she bit her lip and looked upward, towards the ceiling as she jabbed one last bobby-pin into her wild head of hair. She nodded again and she sighed and shook her head furiously to make sure that the wig was on tight enough.

Draco took a step back and gazed at her. He couldn't believe he had pushed her to this point. She was actually going to do it. He smirked slightly. This was going to be good. Hermione placed her hands on her hips impatiently and rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm ready when _you_ are Mister Malfoy." She snarled sarcastically. Draco smirked at her

"Oh I'm ready alright." The two seventh years walked over to the entrance. Hermione stood so she was just barely out of view. Draco sauntered into the hall and walked up to the teacher's table.

Eustacia suddenly spotted Malfoy whispering something to Dumbledore. The Headmaster smiled and nodded his head at Draco. The platinum blond spun around so that he was facing the students who were eating their dinner. He cleared his throat and pointed his wand at his neck and cast a spell to magnify his voice.

"Ladies, gentlemen and the other three houses, May I please have your attention." His voice boomed throughout the hall. The slytherin table cheered as they saw their leader standing in front of the teacher's table. The other tables muttered under their breath.

"What the hell is he up to?" asked Ginny as she looked towards the Head Boy. Harry and Ron shrugged their shoulders in unison and turned their attention back to their food.

"I think I might go get Mione now." Said Ron as he took on last slug of his drink. Just as he was about to get up, Draco's voice filled the room once more.

"I am incredibly pleased to present to you, Miss Hermione Granger." Ron fell back into his seat with an expression of shock. Harry's eyes darted up from the table and glared where Malfoy was standing.

"What the hell is he up to?" he snarled. Ginny sighed as Harry repeated the question she had asked a minute ago.

Draco waved his wand and a grand piano appeared out of nowhere. He slid over to it and sat down on the bench.

Every one in the hall was looking his direction when a short curly haired blond walked into the room. She was wearing a low cut pink dress with excessive beading and fringe, kind of like a flapper dress. A black satin lounge robe adorned her shoulders and she held a book in her hand.

"Miss Granger will be performing "Adelaide's Lament" from the Broadway Musical, "Guys and Dolls'" said Draco as he swung his wand at the piano and it played the first chord.

"It says here…" began Hermione as she opened her book. She spoke in a very convincing New York ditzy girl accent. She then took in a deep breath and began to sing.

"The average unmarried female, basically insecure. Do to some long frustration may react with pa-sycho-so-matic (psychosomatic) symptoms difficult to endure involving the uppa respiratory tract.

In other words, just from waiting around for that plain little band of gold, a person, can develop a cold. You can spray her where ever you thinka the streptococci lurk. You can give her a shot for whateva she's got, but it just won't work. If she's tired of getting the fish-eye from the hotel clerk, a person can develop a cold."

Hermione was doing incredibly well. If some one were to evaluate the quality of the singing, they would not say that it was stupendous. However, Adelaide's character isn't supposed to sound that great. She over emphasized all her consonants and mispronounced some words to reinforce the fact that Adelaide was not the smartest of the bunch. Her acting was amazing. Everyone was staring at her in awe. Mainly because she was making a fool of herself and no one could believe that shy little Hermione Granger could ever do what she was doing right now.

"Oh! It says here…

The female remaining single, just in the legal sense, shows a neurotic tendency. See note." Hermione ran her finger along the page and looked around stupidly until she found it.

"Oh, note. Chronic organic syndromes, toxic or hyper tense involving the eye, the ear, and the nose and throat. In other words just from wondering whether the wedding is on or off, a person can develop a cough." Hermione began to pace in front of the room and do other things to emphasize what she was singing about.

"You can feed her all day with the vitamin A and the Bromo-fiz, but the medicine neva gets anywhere near where the trouble is. If she's gettin a kind of a name for herself and the name ain't his, a person can develop a cough."

Harry's mouth was wide opened as he stared at Hermione. Ginny glanced over at him and began to laugh.

"Honestly, are you trying to catch flies?" she asked sarcastically with a smile gracing her lips. Harry just shook his head in disbelieve.

"I can't believe that that's our Hermione." Harry murmured, his eyes never leaving his friend. Ginny giggled.

"I think she's doing amazing!" said Ginny to Harry, but said it loud enough for everyone in the near vicinity to hear her.

"Yeah," said Lavender Brown, entering the conversation, "I had no idea Hermione could act so well, or that she could be so funny. She could totally make a living out of this if she wanted to!" she said excitedly. Seamus Finnegan nodded his head in agreement. In reality, Hermione probably wouldn't have been able to make a living out of her acting skills, few people can.

Draco was sitting at the piano bench with a genuine smile on his face. He couldn't believe that Hermione Granger was in front of the whole student body making an ass of herself. And having a good time doing it too. Perhaps the thing that was so great about Hermione's performance was that, if you weren't in complete shock, you could really tell that she was having fun.

_I guess she's not the know-it-all, I-do-nothing-but-read-all-day-and-never-have-any-fun prude that I thought she was. _He thought to himself. _She's just a plain know-it-all prude. I never thought she would have the guts to do something like this, nonetheless do it well. _She was, however, doing incredibly well, and was positively hilarious, whether she meant to be or not.

Thankfully, Hermione was trying to be hilarious.

"When they get on the train for Niagra, and she can hear church bells chime. The compartment is air conditioned and the mood sublime." she sang as she looked off into the distance as if she was day-dreaming. She suddenly glared at the audience in frustration as she sang the next lines

"Then they get off at Saratoga for the fourteenth time! A person can develop la grippe. La grippe, la grippe, la post nasal drip, with the wheezes and the sneezes and a sinus that's really a pimp!" She looked at the students sadly as she hung her shoulders in a dejected manor.

"From a lack of community property, and a feeling she's getting to old, a person, can develop a bad bad cold!" The piano finished playing the song, and when the music finished Hermione ended the performance with a huge sneeze.

She looked at the student body, waiting for some sort of response. There was a pause that seemed like forever when finally the whole school, subtracting Slytherin, was on their feet clapping and roaring with laughter. She could hear the teacher's clapping and laughing as well. Hermione smiled brightly as she laughed along with them. She could have sworn she heard a few fifth year Hufflepuffs shout,

"Granger is the hottest girl in school!" and she definitely heard all the other cheers of, 'Granger is the coolest,' and 'Hermione is my hero.' She smiled and made a small curtsy as she skipped out of the hall, staying in character. Hermione felt great. Performing was so much fun, and was such a rush. But the thing that made her feel the greatest was when she saw Draco Malfoy clapping for her as well.

AN: Thanx for reading! There is still more to come! And please review if you can...I'm in desperate need of a pick-me-up and I think something like that would definitely do the trick...Thanx again!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Yea! Reviews! Thanks guys! If you have any tips or ideas or something annoys you, let me know and I will do my best to address all your thoughts! So, yea...I can't think of anything else to say...um...right. Oh, and I wrote the beginning of the story before the 6th book came out so obviously the person who died in it isn't dead in this story. And was I the only one who sobbed for the rest of the book after it happened? God...J.K. Rowling wrote it so beautifully...sigh...ok, anywho, on with the story!

Chapter 4

Hermione walked into the Head's common room chattering with Ginny, Lavender and Parvati. Draco was stretched out across the couch with a book in his lap. He glanced up at the girls with a raised eyebrow. He appeared to be looking at all of them, but he was simply staring at Hermione. He had assumed for all these years that she was some over-achiever who never did anything fun or daring. He had assumed that she was some less-than-human frump girl with a holier-than-thou attitude. He had no idea that she actually had a personality that went deeper than that. Actually, to be honest he had no idea that she had a personality at all. He didn't know exactly what traits her personality consisted off, but for some strange reason, he wanted to know everything about her more than anything else. He couldn't pinpoint his true motives in this new interest, but he had an inkling that it couldn't be good...at least not for Hermione.

She suddenly glanced at Draco and raised her eyebrow in a mocking manner.

"And what on earth are you staring at Malfoy?" she snapped with a slight smile gracing her features. Draco smirked and gave her one last look over. He shrugged and turned his gaze back to his book.

_I know,_ he thought to himself, _if I find out everything about Hermione, I'm bound to find out everything about the loathsome tarnished trio as well. Hmm...this could be a good source of black mail. Draco, you are simply genius. _

"By the way," muttered Draco as his eyes traveled across the page, "You're not allowed to have friends in here now. Remember? The dance? We're stuck up here all alone for the entire week with nothing to do but work on the God forsaken Yule Ball. Ring any bells, know-it-all?" he snarled. Hermione glared at his platinum blond head and turned to her friends.

"He's right girls, you really ought to go." she said to her friends. They grumbled but said good-bye to their friend and filed out of the common room.

Hermione collapsed on the couch across from Draco and gazed at the cover of what he was reading, trying to make out a title.

"I believe that is that first time you ever actually admitted I was right." Draco said with an amused look plastered on his face. Hermione looked into the gray gaze of the young man across the room from her. She rolled her eyes and looked back at what he was reading. She suddenly seemed incredibly shocked, yet a smirk began to creep across her lips.

"Are you reading _A Witches Guide to the Perfect Bride_?" she asked as the smirk began to take full bloom. Draco glared at her and nodded.

"My beautiful fiancée insists I assist her in the selection of all the decorations, place settings, food, everything. And as a result, she ordered I read this." he spat as he stared blankly at the page. Hermione giggled.

"And Draco's being a good little husband and doing what little wifey says to do? Awww...how incredibly sweet." Hermione said as if speaking to some one under the age of three. Draco slammed the book shut and stood up from his reclining position. He towered over her menacingly.

"Care to repeat that mudblood?" he hissed. Hermione stood up and glared right back into his cold gray eyes.

"Why?" she retorted, "You heard it the first time." Draco took one step forward, forcing Hermione to back up a step. His eyes never left hers.

"I'm awfully sick of you insinuating that I'm some weak, submissive, man who does whatever a girl tells him to." He snarled quietly. Hermione smiled sweetly at him.

"I wasn't insinuating Draco. I was stating it. You are a weak, submissive, man who does whatever a girl tells you to do." Remarked Hermione. Draco cornered her even more, so that her legs were pressed up against the couch.

"And you are a frumpish know-it-all who has nothing better to do than to correct other people and act as if the rest of the world is below your acumen. Except for Potty and Weasel of course, you let them copy your work so that they can look good. You think that I do what people tell me to do? At least I'm told, you are submissive at all times. You always will be a subservient, pathetic, revolting, nauseatingly meek girl who will never get anywhere with her life. You let people walk all over you Hermione; you let people use you. I'll laugh when I hear that you're some muggle's abused wife ten years from now." He hissed with an evil glare set in his eyes. He could tell that he had riled her up a bit.

"Subservient?" she snarled as she shoved him back a few steps. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Pathetic?" She spat as she took two large steps forward causing Draco to back up hastily.

"Weak?" she barked as she punched him in the shoulder so that he fell back on the couch roughly. He cursed under his breath and tried to get up, but before he could move, he realized that Hermione was on top of him. She had him trapped underneath her with her fingernails digging into his shoulders painfully.

"What are you going to do mudblood?" he asked as he glared into her amber eyes, "Are you going to beat me up? Bash my head in? Rip my skin off?" Hermione stared harshly into his icy gaze. She couldn't deny the involuntary attraction to this man whom she was bound to for the rest of her life. It wasn't her choice that she was now drawn to him. It was simply the spell working it's magic between the two enemies. Right? Hermione suddenly leaned down, placing her lips by his ear.

"No," she whispered, "I'm going to do much worse than that." But Before Draco could react Hermione had smashed her lips onto his. The electric shock that surged through their veins was unbelievably powerful.

_Oh God! _Hermione thought nervously, _I never heard of a binding spell being this powerful. This CANNOT be normal. _

_What the hell is she doing to me? _cursed Draco in his mind, _She must have me under a spell or something because this feeling CANNOT be normal._

Draco pushed Hermione off him and glared at her.

"What's the hidden agenda Mudblood?" he snarled. Hermione glared right back at him.

"I punched you in third year, I wanted to see if I could do it again." she hissed. Draco rolled his eyes and shoved her off the couch so that she fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Why don't you go make-out with Potty or Weasel and leave me the Hell alone." He spat as he got up the couch and stepped over Hermione as he made his way to the staircase. Hermione grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled it at the back of Draco's head. It managed to hit him squarely between the shoulders. He turned around sharply and shot her a menacing look.

"I would," she said with a sarcastic smile plastered on her face, "but I can't leave the dorm this week. I have one hundred and twenty hours to annoy you to death and I plan on using every second." Draco smirked at her condescendingly.

"On the contrary, I believe it will be I who will be making your life a living Hell for the next week." He said as he threw the pillow back at her hitting her in the face.

"Bastard." she muttered.

"Bitch." he retorted.

"Pureblood." she snapped.

"Mudblood." he barked.

"Man-whore." she spat

"Prude." he answered

"Prick."

"Know-it-all."

"Idiot."

"Ugly."

"Weak."

"Weaker."

"Get lost."

"Only if you come with me."

"Drop dead."

"Ditto." muttered Draco as he sauntered up the stairs. Hermione got up from the ground and growled in frustration.

"I hate you Malfoy." she yelled as he disappeared up the stairs.

"Good, the feeling is mutual." His voice echoed as it traveled down the stairwell. Hermione sighed and placed her head in her hands as she flopped back down on the couch.

"How did I get dragged into this?"

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Draco was standing at the end of the aisle by the altar. He was wearing an incredibly expensive tuxedo. He looked at his reflection in the stained glass window and couldn't help but smirk.

_Damn, I look sexy. _He thought to himself. Suddenly, the organ began to play and he snapped back to reality. The doors swung open and in walked Eustacia in a slinky wedding dress.

_Oh fck...do I actually have to marry her? Shit...No one can save me now. Oh well, maybe it's fate. No. It can't be fate. I don't now what my fate is, but it isn't this and it sure as hell won't be with her. _Just as he thought this he glanced up into the choir loft to see Hermione standing there. For some odd reason he was incredibly happy to see her, almost ecstatic. She jumped on a broom and flew down from the balcony and landed next to Draco.

"I thought you were terrified of flying." he said to her as the entire church exploded with gasps and screams.

"I am," she said, glancing back at the crowd nervously, "So now you have to, come on idiot, let's get out of here." And with that Draco scooped Hermione up in his arms, hopped on the broom and flew straight for the stained glass window and hit it with a huge...

"Crap!" yelled Draco as he woke up with a horrible start. He rubbed his aching head, which he had just thrown back against the headboard. This was not the first time he had dreamt of this particular situation. However, each dream was incredibly different. In one dream he was getting married on top of the Eiffel tower, in another he was at a ski resort. The one thing that always remained the same was the fact that Hermione would show up out of nowhere, and would, in a sense, rescue him. No matter what the circumstance, Hermione was always there, saving him from his fate.

He slowly detangled himself from his covers and got out of bed. He then remembered that he didn't have classes today. He wanted to climb back into bed and continue his beauty sleep, but decided against it since he was already up. He was also afraid of reliving the dream again, and that strange feeling of joy when he saw Hermione.

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Hermione was pacing the floor downstairs in the common room. She was muttering different ideas to herself and scribbling on a piece of parchment.

"Miss?" Interrupted a house elf, standing in front of her with a giant tray of food. Hermione looked down at the elf and quickly set her parchment and quill aside to relieve the poor creature of its overwhelming load. She took the tray and placed it on the coffee table in between the two couches.

"What's this for?" she asked the house elf as she fished in her pocket for something.

"This be for Miss and Mr. Malfoy." answered the little house elf with an anxious look plastered on its face. Hermione smiled

"Thank you very much," she said, "Now, I insist that you take this hat that I made especially for you." The house elf looked up at her in surprise and alarm. It seemed to have taken offense. It promptly kicked her in the shin and scuttled out of the room.

"Oh bugger." Hermione mumbled and she fell back on the couch with a thud. She nursed her wound to the sound of laughter coming from behind her.

"Still trying to free the house elves Granger? Honestly. Isn't it quite obvious that they like being belittled and serving their masters? Are you still trying to recruit people to your stupid rights group? What was the name again? SMAK? SWAK? SKANK? I can't seem to remember." Draco smirked as he sat down on the couch across from her. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I wouldn't expect some one as uncaring and selfish as yourself to be able to comprehend such a complicated thing as compassion." she said as she scanned the tray for something of interest. This comment only caused Draco to laugh harder.

"Compassion is simply a nicer way of looking down your nose." He said with a smile spreading across his gorgeous features. Hermione glared at him as she picked up a chocolate covered strawberry.

"Oh shut up you." she hissed as she hurled it at his face. Draco caught the strawberry in his hand and smirked at her.

"You must remember, I _am _a seeker." He then threw the strawberry straight back at Hermione. She simply opened her mouth, caught it, and swallowed it hole. Draco stared at her in a mixture of appalled shock and reverence. Hermione giggled.

"I know, aren't I talented." Draco shook his head and raised an eyebrow. He looked down at the food and then looked back up at Hermione with a peculiar glint in his eyes. Hermione looked at him questioningly.

"I was just wondering what else you could fit in that mouth of yours." he whispered huskily. Now it was Hermione's turn to look shocked and appalled. She shook her head after the initial surprise of the comment, and then retaliated with a spoonful of marmalade splattered across Draco's face. He glared at her, and then a massive food fight ensued.

By the end of fifteen minutes, Draco had Marmalade smeared all over, strawberry and chocolate stains on his shirt, blueberries discoloring his hair, and orange juice spilt on his pants. Hermione had a maple syrup in her hair, milk down her front, toast in her shirt, and chocolate fondue adorning her skirt. The entire room resembled a very bad display of breakfast items from 4 star restraunts.

"You look like a discolored smurf." muttered Hermione as she glanced at Draco's hair. Draco opened his mouth to retaliate,

"Yes, well you look like, a, a," but rather than finish his sentence, he burst out laughing instead. Hermione glared at him, but simply couldn't think of anything rude to say. Draco was now hunched over on the floor he was laughing so hard. Hermione ran over and made a move to kick him in the stomach, but she wasn't quick enough. Draco grabbed her legs and startled her so much that she fell backwards.

"Oh fck." she mumbled as she began to laugh as well. Draco's eyes bulged.

"I didn't know you could swear!" he exclaimed. This caused Hermione to laugh even harder. After they both had calmed themselves down they realized that they both, and the room, needed a severe cleaning. Hermione ran up to the bathroom first, and scuttled inside as Draco ran up the stairs behind her.

"I _am_ the smartest girl in school you know, and a know-it-all. Therefore I would know how to swear wouldn't I?" she smirked as her rival reached the landing.

Draco was about to retort, but received a door slammed in his face. He stared at the door for a while in disbelief.

"That girl is something else."

----------------------------------------------------

"No! Pink is an absolutely atrocious color!" snarled Draco as he waved his wand at an image floating in the air, shredding it to pieces. It was about three hours after they both had cleansed themselves and the room. Hermione sighed and threw her hand up in the air.

"Fine! You think of something genius!" She shouted at Draco, who was in his usual lounging position on the couch. He looked at her with a blasé expression, swung his legs over the couch and pointed his wand at the air in-between himself and Hermione. She stood with her hands on her hips in a frustrated manner as she watched Draco sketch a 3-D version of the Great Hall decorated for the dance.

When he was done, everything in the hall was different shades of dark blue with candles emitting a light blue hue placed on French cafe style tables surrounding the dance floor. He turned his glance to Hermione once he was satisfied with his masterpiece. Hermione shook her head.

"It's so plain," she said motioning at the sketch. "It needs some frills, some pizzazz, some-"

"Something girly." muttered Draco as he draped his legs back on the couch and shut his eyes. Hermione sighed at the Head Boy's lack of interest and pointed her wand at the sketch. After a few moments the Great Hall was also adorned with floating light and medium blue streamers and continuously falling white and baby blue faux snow. However, the snow would stop falling seven feet above the ground so it would not get in any one's way.

"Also," started Hermione, trying to gain Draco's attention once more, "The candle's shouldn't be giving off blue light, it will make every one look green." Draco opened his eyes to see Hermione replacing the candles with normal one's.

"Fine." he hissed as he waved his wand at the sketch and added small blue (magical versions of) christmas tree lights embellishing the walls and punch/snack table. They both looked at the sketch and nodded simultaneously.

"Alright," she murmured as she grabbed a jar and moved the sketch into it with a flick of her wand, "We have the decor set...now we only have the food, music, band, rules and reg-"

"Please stop talking." interrupted Draco, "We also have all week to get this done." He said as he placed an arm behind his head.

"We also have a ton of homework left to do!" she exclaimed. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"You finished all your homework this past weekend." he said, a smirk beginning to form on his face.

"Well then, you have to finish all your homework-"

"Done." Draco interrupted once again, "Would you please chill out?"

"No," Hermione retorted, "I will not, 'chill out,' until we get all of this done!" Draco rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Well, let's order lunch and we'll contact the five bands Dumbledore recommended and see what kind of music they play, we'll choose a band, then we'll choose the music, then we'll tell the band to play the music we selected. Will you relax then?" he asked looking at her with an expression of fake concern. Hermione nodded and flopped down on the couch across from him. She grabbed the file on the table and placed the fliers for each of the bands they had to choose from on the table. Draco told one of the house elves to go make them lunch and he sat down next to Hermione. She looked at him strangely for a minute, wondering why he decided to sit next to her rather than on the couch across from her. He acknowledged her glance by muttering,

"I sat here because I couldn't read the fliers upside down." Hermione nodded, but for some reason she felt a bit disappointed. However, her disappointment was pushed aside when grilled cheese and tomato soup was placed in front of her.

_When in doubt, _she thought to herself, _food is always the answer._

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Later on that evening Hermione was stretched across the couch with her arms covering her eyes and one of her legs hanging over the edge. Her mind was completely exhausted, causing her to be physically exhausted. She and Draco had decided one a band by the name of "The Whorish Warlocks." Draco liked the name, and Hermione liked the fact that they were willing to play anything that Draco and Hermione could think of. Hermione had made her song list with a few muggle songs thrown in just to piss Draco and all the rest of the pureblood snobs off. Draco had also made his list and added in some "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights"-esce songs as well.

Hermione lifted her arms from off of her face and grabbed his song-list from off the table. She scanned it, put it back on the table and replaced her arms over her eyes.

"Draco, do you honestly expect the student body to dance to the rhumba? I mean, come on, I know you like to mock people and try to get them to make fools out of themselves for your own amusement, but seriously? the rhumba?" Hermione shook her head from under her arm. Draco had been pacing the floor, but he stopped immediately.

"I don't expect every one to know the dance, but it's quite simple," he said as he did a few dance steps over to Hermione, "I bet I could even teach you." he said. Hermione removed her cover from her face and gave him a suspicious look.

"Right, like you're such a great dancer. Honey, I highly doubt you're as good as you think you are." muttered Hermione. Draco glared at her, taking this comment as a challenge. He reached out and grabbed one of her hands. In one flawless motion he spun her around three times and dipped her so low that she nearly touched the floor.

"Not nearly as good as I think I am, eh?" he whispered in her ear. "Hermione darling, you must learn that I am good at certain..._activities_, and dancing is one of them." He then lifted her up, twirled her into his arms and spun her out letting her land gracefully on the couch.

Hermione simply looked at him and blinked. She shook her head, got up and began to trudge up the stairs.

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed." she murmured. Draco looked up at the staircase to see her figure ascending to the second floor.

"Goodnight prude." he called after her as he began to straighten out everything on the table.

"Sleep tight asswipe." she muttered back. Draco shook his head and laughed.

_This is too much fun._

_AN: Whoa...I can't get the italics to go away...hee hee...Hope you liked it, and please review! Oh, and hopefully this will make you laugh, I know when I read it it made me laugh..._

_I need to see what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you._

_wow...I'm sorry, I know JK didn't mean for it to sound dirty, but it does to me. Have a good day everyone!_


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Hey! Oh my goodness guys! You are all so great! The reviews make me really happy! And even if you don't review and you just read, it still makes me very happy! Anyway, I wasn't going to update today because I was feeling kind of cruddy (my significant other and I are having issues...Aren't boys silly?), but I decided that I couldn't leave you guys hangin'. Cause you're all too awesome. So yea, here's the chapter. Again I will warn you about ridiculous content, and it's kind of long because I didn't want to split up the dance. So, without further adieu...

Chapter 5

Miss LaMechante was lounging on an overstuffed leather couch in the Slytherin common room. Pansy sat on the coffee table across from Eustacia, and Millicent Bullstroud sat on the floor relying on the couch for back support, absorbed in a fashion magazine. Eustacia was staring at the ceiling. It was Thursday and she hadn't seen Draco since Sunday. Not that she particularly cared. To be honest, she thought Draco was a shallow, unintelligent, immature man-whore. However, she wanted to marry him and was determined to. Not because she loved him, not because he was a sexy English beast, not because they would have gorgeous children, not even because the Dark Lord told her to. She wanted to marry him because she wanted the power. She loved to be in control. She would get what she wanted when she wanted and if any one got in her way, she would make sure they would never get in her way again. So, when she married Draco, she wasn't planning on giving the power over to Voldemort. She would use it to get rid of him, and then she could become the new Dark...um...Lady. Well, she needed to come up with a better title, but the point is that she would be the most powerful witch in the history of the world.

The only thing that stood in her way was Draco. She was sure that he wanted the power as well, but he didn't want to marry her to attain it. He was a very headstrong ignorant boy, and he was very difficult to push around. She had contemplated marrying him and then killing him, but with him gone, the power would be as well. She had also thought about using the Imperious curse, but that was too easy. Perhaps she would use it as a last resource. All she knew was that she needed to talk to him and she needed to talk to him now. If they were going to be married over the holiday, then she needed to figure out a plan. She might not have wanted to involve him in it, but there didn't seem to be any other way. At least if they were on the same page then they would be able to work together to defeat the Dark Lord. After that...well, she would have to see if he was worth keeping around or not.

Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal interrupted her thoughts. She turned her attention to Millicent who was waving the magazine in front of her face.

"Isn't this such a gorgeous dress! Should I wear this one to the dance?" she asked with a stupid smile stretched across her face.

"I like it better than your other five." muttered Pansy as she leaned over to peer at the page. Eustacia stared at the page blankly. Did she care? Hell no. Did she pretend to care? Hell no. She realized that Millicent wasn't going to move the atrocious catalog away from her face until she offered her expert advice.

"Sure, buy it." she murmured in her smoky French accent. She then swung her legs over the couch gracefully and stood up. Pansy and Millicent stared at her with an inquisitive expression.

"Where are you going?" asked Millicent, ready to drop her magazine and everything else and follow her.

"I am going to see my fiancé." she stated plainly as she began to walk away. Pansy's eyes widened.

"But you're not allowed to. He and Hermione aren't allowed to have any one up there. Professor Dumbled-"

"I don't care Pansy." spat Eustacia as she swept out of the room in a huff. She was determined to see Draco, and she would.

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Draco was rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. Hermione stopped twirling and placed her hands on her hips defiantly.

"What? Am I honestly that bad of a dancer? You know, you're the one who taught me, so maybe you're just a bad teacher." she snapped. Draco was trying to gain control, but to no avail.

"No, no, you're actually quite good, you just make the funniest face." he managed to sputter out before collapsing again into laughter. Hermione rolled her eyes and kicked him in the stomach.

"Crap!" he exclaimed. Hermione giggled in triumph.

"Do not tell me that my face is funny!" Draco had regained control, and was now standing up and brushing himself off. He walked up to Hermione and stared at her for a while with no real expression on his face.

"You have a lovely face." he said. Hermione looked at him, a bit surprised by that comment. "You just have this nasty habit of scrunching it up when you're thinking too hard. Try not to think of the dance steps and just let your body tell you where to go. We've been doing this for the past four days, your muscles definitely know where to go and what to do by now." Hermione looked at him skeptically. Draco sighed in exasperation. "Ok, let's go over the third part." he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

They went through a dance sequence filled with twirls, spins, dips, lifts, and just about every elaborate Latin dance move you could think of.

"Stop thinking Hermione!" scolded Draco as he whipped her out and spun her in quickly, "Just let yourself slip." Suddenly it seemed as if there was an immediate reaction to this comment. Hermione just let go. They were gliding around the room like nobody's business. (A/N: Sorry, I just had to put the saying, "like nobody's business" in there somewhere...hee hee) Draco dipped her and drew her back up again slowly. "That's what I'm talking about Hermione. You really could be a great dancer if you just relaxed. I think you're probably the best partner I've ever had." he said gazing into her eyes.

"It's so hard not to think though. I'm always thinking about something. If I don't think, I'll forget what I'm supposed to do and what I'm not supposed to do." She said as she began to feel herself being drawn to him.

"I know," muttered Draco as he unconsciously drew her in closer with one hand and brushed the hair away from her face with the other. "There are times when it's good to follow your instincts though." he whispered, "Sometimes it's better not to think."

He stared into her eyes and tried to follow his own advice. Why did everything and everyone tell him that what he was doing was wrong, when having her in his arms felt so right? How could his mind and his impulses be so contradictory?

_Those aren't impulses, _he heard himself think, _that's your heart._ Common sense was telling him to push her away, but he couldn't bring himself to let his arms fall from her side. He refused to let himself retreat and instead brought her face closer to his and-

A huge crash sounded through out the room. Draco and Hermione both took a huge step away from each other as Eustacia stepped through the threshold.

"What the Hell did you do?" Snapped Hermione as she glanced at the busted door.

"I came to see my fiancé." she retorted as she pushed past Hermione and walked over to Draco. "We need to speak about-" she began, but was cut off by a very perturbed Head Girl.

"What in Merlin's name gives you the right to come busting in here, not expected, not invited, not politely, and not allowed might I add!" She barked. Eustacia turned around, glared at Hermione and again turned her attention back to Draco.

"As I was saying," she tried to continue, but Hermione wouldn't let her.

"Come fix this door." she shouted, pointing at the torn portrait. Eustacia didn't turn around, she didn't respond, she just looked at Draco.

"Draco," she commanded, "Tell the filthy little mudblood to get out of here, or you'll make her get out of here." Draco looked at Hermione. He clearly did not want to do what his future bride had asked of him.

"Um...no." he said, without moving his eyes from Hermione. Hermione couldn't help but let a small smile escape her lips. Eustacia glared at Draco with surprise and alarm. She turned sharply and stared at the muggle-born with the utmost contempt.

"Get out of here NOW!" she hissed cruelly. Hermione simply stood there with arms crossed.

"No. I will not get out of here. This is my common room, not yours. Please, Miss LaMechante, you don't even have to fix the door, just leave before you get in trouble for being here. Your presence is strictly forbidden." Stated Hermione with calm confidence. Eustacia stared at her in disgusted disbelief.

"You will not tell me what to do, you impure piece of English trash. I could squash you like a bug if I wanted to. I simply choose not to waste my time on sniveling unimportant mudbloods such as yourself. You shouldn't even be here. Hogwarts was never for people of _your_ kind. Hogwarts was created to teach human beings, and it is bluntly obvious that you, and your race, cannot even be called human." Eustacia snorted as she glared down her nose. Hermione dropped her arms to her side. She stood with bold self-assurance. Draco looked at her and felt his heart brim with pride, even though he told himself he was just happy that some one was willing to stand up to the French bitch.

"Get out." Hermione snarled quietly. Eustacia laughed incredulously.

"Ignorant mudblood! Do you even know who I am?" she spat. Hermione walked towards her and narrowed her eyes in a menacing manner.

"Yes, I know you are a self-righteous, proud, glorified slut who actually had the audacity to think that she had the right to rip down the door, barge into the room, and ignore the rules. You even had the impudence to insult me and tell me to leave my own common room. If any one is filthy, it is you, for looking down your nose at people and being atrociously condescending. Your ignorance and lack of understanding is disgusting. Get out of this room before I vomit out of contempt." Hermione spat. Draco had a huge smile stretched across his face. Eustacia simply glared at Hermione and stomped out of the room.

"I'm going to tell Prof. Dumbledore!" she shouted over her shoulder, "then you'll regret your words mudblood!" Hermione simply shook her head and flopped down on the couch. She whipped out her wand and muttered,_ reparo_, as she pointed it at the door mending everything Eustacia had destroyed. Draco walked over to her and sat down next to her. He leaned over and gave her a huge hug.

"Hermione, that was amazing. You totally whupped some major ass." He suddenly realized that she seemed to be shaking slightly. He pulled away and saw a few tears stream down her cheeks. She turned her face away and tried to get up from the couch, but Draco's arm stopped her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Draco really wasn't too good with crying women, but he felt a need to find out. Hermione shook her head.

"You wouldn't understand." she whispered. Draco turned her face towards his own, forcing her to look at him.

"I could try." he said looking into her eyes. Hermione gently pushed the hand away from her face.

"No one has ever called you less than human. I'm smart, intelligent, talented, caring and responsible. I deserve everything every one else has, don't I? I am a human." she murmured quietly as she wiped some silent tears from her cheeks. Draco smiled at her and shook his head.

"No you're not." He said. Hermione eyes shot up and glared into Draco's. "You're super-human. You have to be if you stood up to that bitch and came away with your head and your vital organs. That was the greatest thing ever." He said with a smirk. Hermione smiled weakly. "I mean, did you see her face? It was like you had hit her across the head with a bludger." Hermione began to laugh as she imagined the sight of Eustacia getting hit with a bludger. Draco smiled. Making Hermione feel better made him feel better.

"And I have a great idea to really send her flying off her broom." he began. She leaned in and they began plotting their next attack on Miss LaMechante.

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Ron and Harry stood at the bottom of the grand staircase as they waited for their dates to arrive. Harry checked his appearance one last time in the reflection of his glasses before once again placing them on the bridge of his nose. His black hair was gently tussled and his green eyes seemed a bit brighter than usual. He smiled when he saw Ron's nervous disposition. He was fuddling with the bottom of his suit jacket and would pass a hand through his hair every five seconds. He was trying to go for the debonair look, and unfortunately did not quite reach his destination. However, both the boys did look very cute in their suits.

Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the staircase once again as they spotted Lavender Brown and Luna Lovegood traveling down the stairs towards them. Lavender wearing a bronze colored dress, and Luna wearing a dress the color of her friend's name. Ron forced a timid smile, and Harry beamed as Luna took his arm allowing herself to be led to the dance floor. Ron shuffled his feet, not knowing exactly what to do. Lavender sighed and grabbed his arm violently yanking him along after her onto the dance floor.

Hermione entered the dance a little bit later. She prowled around the floor like a hawk searching for its prey. She was wearing a satin green dress that went to her mid-calf. There was a large slit up the side with ruffles adorning the split seam. It wasn't a dark green, but more of a silvery/gold green. It was fitting, but not so tight as to constrict Hermione's breath. Her hair was in perfect ringlets, and was held back tightly with a matching green scarf. The ringlets were very tight, allowing for her locks to barely make contact with her back. The scarf was tied in an elaborate design which made it appear as if it were a part of her hair. There was a shorter curl that hung in her face. It fell just below her eyes, obstructing her vision slightly. Her eyes were adorned with heavy blue eyeliner and silver eye shadow. The mascara made her eyelashes seem like a perfectly separated feather fan, and her lips were defined by discreet lip gloss. Her gray diamond rhinestone necklace flashed light on the nearest wall as she turned her head. She didn't notice the fact that many boys were paying attention to her. She was too preoccupied in looking for one boy in particular.

_If he doesn't show_, she thought to herself, _he is so dead. _

Ginny was lounging at one of the tables, swirling a glass of punch in her hand. She was wearing a velvet baby blue dress and her hair hung perfectly straight. She suddenly felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She spun around and came face to face with Blaise Zambini.

"Why hello my lord." she murmured, a small smirk gracing her lips.

"Why hello my lady, care to dance?" he asked pulling her out of her seat and smirking down at her.

"Not now," she said, wagging her finger at him, "Draco and Hermione have to dance first, remember?" Blaise placed his hand on his chin, as if in deep thought.

"Oh of course, how could I have forgotten? Where is that bloody bloke?" He said with a sarcastic tone of wonderment. Ginny slapped him playfully on the arm.

"Don't swear! My poor virgin ears!" She cried with smile on her face. Blaise suddenly smirked and leaned his face down next to hers.

" I can change that for you." he whispered. Ginny's jaw dropped in surprise, but couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her lips.

"Hey look!" He exclaimed. "It's Draco!" Ginny glanced around the room.

"Where? I don't see him." she said her eyes darting this way and that, spotting Hermione in the middle of the dance floor with her hands on her hips. Blaise turned Ginny around and pointed her head in the direction of Draco who was standing at the top of the stairs, straightening the sleeves of his suit jacket.

His shirt had the top two buttons unbuttoned and his jacket hung open in a casual manner. He lacked a tie, but some how his lack of one made him appear even more attractive. His hair was slicked back perfectly and his skin was absolutely flawless. He was leaning against one of the banisters as if waiting for someone. His eyes were fixed on the students surrounding the dance floor, or at least they appeared to be.

He was staring at the girl who would claim the first dance of the evening. The girl who stood out from everyone around her, possibly because of her flustered behavior, or possibly because she drew his attention like a moth to the flame. Dumbledore's voice suddenly boomed through the room, causing every one to jump in surprise.

As he did his usual speech about having a good time and staying safe and all the work that went into the dance, Eustacia sauntered over to Draco's side.

"How are you darling?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice that was so fake it made Draco want to slap her.

"Absolutely glorious." he stated, his eyes still following the girl on the dance floor. Eustacia waited for a few seconds, and realized that he was not going to return the question.

"I will have the first dance, will I not?" She asked, although, she tried to make it sound like an order rather than a question. Draco made no response as Dumbledore answered Eustacia's question for her,

"And my dear students, as tradition has it, the Head girl and Head boy, will have the first dance." All the attention of the student body was turned to the middle of the dance floor, where Hermione Granger was standing. She glanced around, but failed to look up the staircase.

"Where IS the Head boy?" she cried out in frustration. Eustacia appeared as if she was going to say something to Draco, but before she had a chance, he was already descending the stairs towards his destined spot next to his partner.

"I'm right here Granger." he snorted in a disgusted manner, even though it was evident to some that he was not disgusted at all.

Hermione turned around to face him and her breath suddenly caught in her throat. He looked absolutely amazing, and that strange urge to be close to him began to blast through her mind.

All Draco could think about was Hermione. She looked so damn good. He needed to get this dance over with so he could get away from her and stop himself from doing something drastic. He spotted his father and mother out of the corner of his eye, along with Eustacia's family. He remembered that they would be announcing his engagement to the school that evening. As he found himself standing in front of Hermione, he sighed inwardly and gazed into her eyes.

"I guess we have to dance Granger." he muttered loudly, so that the group gathered could hear. The music began to play. A slow soft waltz began to mingle with the whispers and murmurs being passed around by students.

"I suppose so." she snarled back. They both stared at each other for at least a minute as the band played. The soft conversation eventually stopped, and all eyes were plastered on the two teens in the middle of the floor.

He glanced back over his shoulder at the band. The bandleader nodded his head in understanding. Draco looked back at Hermione, his face losing his usual plastered mask of disgust.

"Remember not to think." he said as the music suddenly stopped. The students waited in anticipation. The teachers stared in confusion and frustration. The bandleader yelled a,

"ONE TWO THREE FOUR!" And Draco grabbed Hermione round the waist and started to dance with her as a fast Latin song boomed from the instruments in the hall. The students' jaws dropped as Draco spun Hermione out effortlessly and retracted her back into his arms. They twirled around the room, their eyes never leaving the other's, their minds thinking of nothing...but each other.

They twisted and turned and danced around the room in a semi-unconscious state. Blaise poked Ginny in the arm. She turned and looked up into his sea-blue eyes.

"Yes?" She whispered. He looked at the dancing couple and back at her.

"Am I the only one who thinks they look perfect together?" he asked as he again glanced back at the couple in time to see Hermione and Draco spinning around each other in an elegant and complicated manner. Ginny nodded slowly.

"As wrong as it may be to think so, I agree with you. I mean, look at the way she's looking at him." she said as she indicated the dance floor with one of her manicured fingers. Blaise nodded.

"And look at the way he's looking at her. And shit can they dance! It's like they're two magnets constantly repelling and attracting each other, only they're dancing at the same time." They both turned their attention back to the partners.

They looked so intent, so involved, so engrossed in the other that everyone else in the room felt as if they were intruding on their privacy.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, wondering about the day in Dumbledore's office two weeks ago. Were they witnessing the consequence of a spell, or the consequence of something more?

Eustacia fumed as she stood next to her parents and her fiancé's. He was dancing with scum. Her fiancé was dancing with one of the lowest rankings of society. She clenched her hands into fists and dug her fingernails into her palm as she watched the couple fly across the floor.

Draco's father couldn't help but wonder why his son seemed to be enjoying a dance with Hermione Granger. He glanced over at Eustacia and saw her frustration and anger written all over her face. He glanced back at the couple on the floor and concluded that something was amiss.

Everyone in the room could see that something was going on. They were either so involved in the dance that they had forgotten who they were dancing with, or they were so involved in the dance that they had forgotten to hide their feelings. They had stopped thinking. They had let go. And in doing so, they had disclosed their feelings for each other(whatever they were) to the entire school.

The music slowed as Draco dipped Hermione. She wrapped her leg around his,

utilizing the slit on the side of her dress, revealing most of her limb to the entire group surrounding. He lifted her up slowly, intensely, deliberately. If it was not evident before, their silent passion was now displayed to the entire crowd. Most thought it was simply good dancing, others thought it was simply good acting. A few saw it for what it was, pure powerful desire.

The song ended with a _bum-bum-bum_ and the dance ended as well. Draco didn't want to let go as the next song began and the other students joined them on the floor.

Hermione wanted his arms to remain around her and his eyes to stay locked with hers. Few noticed the two Head's standing in the middle of the dance floor, enveloped in pairs of other dancing students. They stood completely still, staring at each other.

Draco leaned closer to her and slowly bent his head towards hers. She closed her eyes and inched closer as his lips brushed against hers gently. They pulled apart and backed away, not fully realizing the potential mayhem they could have caused with that small action.

Suddenly, Blaise and Ginny busted through the crowd dancing so violently that people had to scuttle out of the way to protect themselves. Draco and Hermione were pushed further away from each other and disappeared into opposite sides of the crowd as their friends busted a grove in the craziest manner.

After the first dance with Draco, Hermione wandered over to Harry and Ron and Luna. They were sitting at a table with numerous punch glasses scattered around, and a few bowls of trail mix as well.

"Where's Lavender?" Hermione inquired. Ron shrugged.

"Probably dancing with her friends." He looked severely disappointed. Hermione gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as she glanced at the dance floor, spotting Draco dancing with Eustacia.

The three who were sitting with her noticed her eyes glaze over and could plainly see that Hermione's mind was now drifting far from the table.

"Mione?" asked Ron with a concerned look. Hermione shook her head and returned her attention to her friends.

"Well, um, I don't think you should take it personally. It's ok when a girl dances with a group of other girls. Just as long as she's not dancing with another boy, I wouldn't fret over it." Just as she said this, Lavender and a bunch of girls wove their way out of the crowd and ran up to the table. Before Ron could say anything, she had grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her, forcing her way back into the crowd with Ron trailing after. The group of girls then extended their invitation to Luna and Hermione. Luna accepted, but Hermione declined. She wasn't in a mood to be dancing.

"So," Harry began, "You really danced well with Draco." He looked at Hermione as her eyes drifted to the floor and stayed glued to her shoes. He glanced off to the left, not looking at anything in particular.

"You know Hermione, I'm always here for you no matter what. You know that right?" Hermione nodded her head, more in acknowledgment that she heard him rather than in agreement. "You know you can tell me anything right?" He said again turning his eyes back towards his friend. Hermione nodded again. "Then why don't you tell me what's going on with Draco?" he asked.

Hermione's head shot up and she glared at Harry reproachfully, but then, seeing the true concern and care in his eyes, she gave in. She sighed and propped an elbow up on the table as she grabbed a handful of trail mix with the other.

"I think it's the spell. I just have this need to be near him all the time, and I can't stop thinking about him. I just, I just," she couldn't finish, so she threw the trail mix into her mouth and shrugged her shoulders. Harry smiled at her.

"Mione, it's ok. It's not your fault that you feel this way. You couldn't help it. I mean, you really didn't have a choice, even if Dumbledore said you did. You just have to keep that hope that it will all turn out right in the end." he said, placing a hand over hers. She sighed, but smiled. Harry tried, he really did, but she didn't think she could ever tell him what was going through her mind...or her heart.

The music stopped and Dumbledore's voice once again boomed through the hall.

"Now, it is time to pick the Queen and King of the Yule Ball!" Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing that she could never receive such an honor. A boy on the other side of the dance floor also rolled his eyes. Draco sneered at the French girl standing next to him. Since he was engaged, the school would not put his name in the hat. Besides, it was rare for either of the Heads to be chosen.

It was a similar process to the one they used in choosing the contestants for the tri-wizard tournament. All the seventh years' names were placed in the hat, except for Draco's, and the hat would pull out the King and the Queen. Usually they were a couple, and if not, they would oftentimes become one before the end of the year. It was the general consensus of the school that the hat chose the "Most likely to stay together forever," or the, "Meant to be together." It was the love doctor of Hogwarts in a sense.

"And the Queen is..." started Dumbledore. The entire girl population held their breath as the slip of paper extracted itself from the bubbling hat.

"Hermione Granger!" shouted Dumbledore. Hermione jumped out of her seat and nearly broke both her heals. She turned back to Harry, he beamed at her and motioned for her to go up by Dumbledore to get her crown. She weaved her way through the crowd of predominantly supportive students, and pushed aside a few hissing Slytherins to make her way up to Dumbledore. She stood in front of her classmates as they all awaited the announcement of the King.

"And the King is..." started Dumbledore. The hat seemed to struggle, but eventually popped out the name,

"Draco Malfoy!" stated Dumbledore. Every one gasped and gawked. How was that possible? First of all, Hermione and Draco were not, "Meant to be together," or "Most likely to stay together forever." Secondly, they were the two heads of the school, and the Heads were NEVER chosen. And thirdly, Draco's name wasn't even supposed to be in the hat. The entire school was genuinely shocked.

Hermione's jaw had dropped, and she had failed to close it as Draco took his place next to her. He smirked at her and gently shut it with his hand.

"That's quite rude darling." he scolded sarcastically. Mcgonnagal placed the crown on Draco's head and Dumbledore tried to place the tiara on Hermione's, but found that her hair got in the way. Draco reached over and pulled the scarf out of her hair, causing her ringlets to tumble down and settle about her shoulders. Dumbledore smiled as he saw Draco take the scarf and place it in his suit pocket. He placed the tiara on Hermione's head.

His plan was going perfectly.

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AN: Hope you liked it! Anyone have any crazy ideas or questions about what's going on? hee hee! Feel free to toss 'em out there! I love hearing from you all! And if anyone has bf advice it would be greatly appreciated! You guys rock my sox!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Alrighty then! Thanx for the reviews guys! You are all so awesome! I'm in a better mood today! Yea! And all the wonderful reviews were an added bonus! Alright, to address a question: What would happen if Eustacia wanted to kiss Draco, or How does the whole, "not being able to touch some one of the opposite sex" work? Well, honestly when I started writing the story, I didn't really think about it. It just worked because Eustacia wouldn't let Draco touch her. Also, the week after that, they were in their rooms by themselves with no outside contact so Draco never had a chance to go slutting around. Hermione isn't at risk to go slutting around, and I kind of let it slip in the last chapter when, "Harry put his hand over her's" but I mean, it only implies he touched her...so let's pretend he didn't. That way it works... but, in the next chapter you will be given an example of what happens at the wedding. But before the next chapter, we must first have...

Chapter 6

Hermione left the dance a bit earlier than every one else, she just wanted to go to sleep so badly. She was struggling with her feelings, and she always felt that sleep helped her solve her problems.

She trudged up the stairs to the Head quarters and shuffled through the door, kicking her heals off to the side and fumbling up the stairs in her dress.

Why was she feeling the way she was?

_Simple, _she thought, _you doomed yourself to be with Draco Malfoy for the rest of your life, and now, because of that, you have absolutely no control over your feelings. You really are quite smart Hermione. _She spat sarcastically at herself. _You always sacrifice yourself for every one else. Draco was right. I do let people walk all over me. _

She opened the door to her room and shut it. She stripped off her formal clothes and drooped some pajamas over her body.

She didn't want to be in love with Malfoy, but the spell was making her. She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and she nestled between the covers.

She shut her eyes as she heard the door downstairs slam and recognized Draco's footsteps coming up the stairs.

She sighed quietly. It was going to be a long night.

Hermione rolled around restlessly in her bed. She turned to check the clock: 3:00 am. She sighed in frustration and flipped over roughly so that she was facing the window. Everything was completely black beyond the pane of glass separating her from the outside world. The moon was shining brightly, but she couldn't see a star in the sky. She was gazing out the window when she noticed a shadow move outside on the balcony. She did a double-take, and then grabbed her wand from her bedside table and sat up in her bed. Her icy stare never left the shadow. For a while, it ceased to move. She was about to tell herself it was a figment of her imagination when the shadow actually stretched out an arm and slowly scratched four long fingernails against the windowpane. Hermione screamed and shot out of her bed. She ran out of her room, sped down the hall, crashed through Draco's door, and jumped onto his bed.

Draco's eyes flew open, he sat up rigidly and whipped his wand off the nightstand and pointed it at Hermione all in one motion.

"What the hell are you doing here!" he snapped.

"Shhhhhh!" Hermione whispered placing a quivering finger against his lips, "There's a-a-a m-m-an outside m-m-y window." she stuttered. Draco looked at her suspiciously.

"Is this just a lame excuse so that you can sleep with me?" he asked sarcastically as a smirk spread across his face. His smirk began to fade, however, when he saw tears trickle down Hermione's face and realized that she was literally shaking with fear. He wrapped his arms around her in an effort to calm her down.

"It's ok," he whispered, "it's ok." Hermione bit her lip to attempt compose herself. They suddenly both heard the distinct sound of glass shattering down the hall and a horrible gust of air pour through the cracks between the door and the frame.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Draco as Hermione yelped in fear. He jumped out of his bed grabbed a robe and his broom and threw the window open. Hermione scuttled over to him and shivered as the cold air shot through the room. He draped the robe around her shoulders and mounted the broom. He silently motioned for her to get on behind him. She leapt onto the broom and wrapped her arms around his waist. They flew out the window just as the door to his room was blown open.

Draco sped the broom all the way up to the astronomy tower. Hermione buried her head into Draco's back; she absolutely hated flying.

"We're going to see Dumbledore." he shouted back to her over the sound of the frigid air whipping past them. He dove straight for the interior stairwell of the astronomy tower. Hermione screamed as Draco sped around the tight spiral staircase with his broom.

"Shouldn't we dismount?" she asked as they exited the stairwell and streaked down the hallway towards the grand staircases.

"Probably, but this is much faster." he answered as they plunged over the edge and went straight down the middle of all the staircases dodging the moving ones and darting this way and that. Draco suddenly changed the direction of flight and Hermione realized they were heading straight for the door.

"Flippendo!" she shouted, knocking the door open.

"Thanks for that!" muttered Draco as they zoomed down the hallway. They were fast approaching the entrance to Dumbledore's office and they would have flown into the gargoyle if Hermione hadn't shouted,

"Crunchy frog." The gargoyle swung back and they flew up the spiral staircase and crashed through the door.

Dumbledore twirled around with a look of surprise on his face.

"Headmaster!" The two teens exclaimed in unison, "There's an intruder in the school!" They still hovered above the ground on the broom. Dumbledore's normally glittering eyes grew dark and menacing.

"I'll gather the teacher's and search the building. Go check on all the houses, starting with Gryffindor! Do not be afraid to unleash your power." He said as he and fauxes disappeared from the office. Draco looked back at Hermione confusedly.

"He means, 'Don't be afraid to beat the crap out of him.'" Draco smirked.

"Now that, I can understand!" he hissed as they sped out of the office and up towards the seventh floor.

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Harry awoke with a start from a strange dream. He had an odd feeling that some one was in trouble. His scar ached some what, but not severely.

"Strange..." he murmured. He then heard a large boom down in the common room. He immediately jumped out of bed and rushed down the stairs.

He arrived down there with all the other Gryffindoor's to find Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy hovering on a broom above the ground.

Draco did a quick surveillance of the room and the students inside. His eyes landed on Potter, and he narrowed his eyes in distaste, but restrained himself from spitting out some unnecessary comment.

"All of you are alright? All of you are intact?" he asked. Harry stepped forward and glared at Malfoy.

"What are you trying to pull you git? What do you mean we're all intact?" he snarled at the enemy. Draco glared right back in a disgustingly condescending manner.

"For your information there is an intru-" Draco was cut off by Hermione screaming his name. He did a 180 with the broom and saw the strange cloaked creature rushing up the stairs to the common room. Draco whipped out his wand, along with Hermione, but the thing/man disarmed them with one low mumble. Hermione screamed as the cloaked slimy animal bounded towards them. It pointed its wand straight at Hermione and shouted the death curse.

Hermione shut her eyes and squeezed onto Draco. However, when she opened her eyes she was not greeted by the pearly gates, but rather, by the familiar gold and red of the Common Room. She and Draco still hovered above the ground, all the students were unharmed, and the evil thing was still standing there hurling curses at them. The only difference was that there was a large bluish transparent shield creating an unsurpassable barrier.

She glanced at Harry and he simply stared back at her in wonderment.

"How did you do that?" he asked in awe. Hermione looked at him confusedly. She leaned over Draco's shoulder.

"Did we do that?" she asked quietly in his ear. He nodded slowly, his eyes stuck to the magical barrier. She remembered back to two weeks ago and the conversation with Dumbledore. He said that if Draco and Eustacia were joined, an inconceivable power would be in their possession. Perhaps since the day of the wedding was fast approaching, the power between the two was growing stronger.

_Or maybe, _she thought to herself, _they actually are growing closer. Maybe he actually does care about her deep down. Maybe he's just messing with me. _

Her heart fell, and she noticed that the barrier was beginning to disintegrate. Draco jumped off the broom suddenly and lunged for his wand, which had been forced out of his hand earlier. He grabbed hold of the wand just as the barrier fell. The cloaked figure muttered a dark laugh and raised his wand straight for Hermione.

Draco shot up from the ground as the death curse one again traveled towards her. He muttered a counter attack from the side, knocking the curse off its course and slamming it into the left wall, leaving a large green stain and a huge hole. Hermione's heart lifted, he had saved her life.

The barrier once again appeared in front of the students. Hermione rushed over to her wand and snatched it off the floor.

"Hermione!" Draco shouted, as the creature shot a curse at the ceiling. A crack shot from the place of impact straight for the chandelier hanging over her. It shook violently, and fell from the ceiling, crashing down on top of her. He pictured Hermione being crushed on impact. He felt the need to break down and cry, but these feelings were swept away as he saw her crouching on the ground, her hand over her head, palm up, as if she was trying to catch the massive light fixture in her hands.

Draco watched in amazement as she slowly stood up, the chandelier lifting itself up with her. It was suspended an inch above her head, surrounded by some strange unseen magical force. She looked at it with uncertainty, but then a cautious confidence began to glow on her face. She turned her face to stare at the figure, which was still flinging curses and deathly hexes at the barrier in an attempt to break it. Draco observed a fire of contempt glowing in Hermione's eyes. She positioned the chandelier by moving her hands.

"Draco," she hissed, "I want to drop the barrier." Draco looked at her confusedly, and half the students cried out in horror.

"Alright." he answered. The barrier fell, and in that instant she flung the chandelier at the figure with such force, it knocked it half way down the stairs.

Draco and Hermione rushed after it, with Harry trailing closely behind. The thing rose up and one again pointed its wand at Hermione.

"Stop!" Draco yelled as he pointed at it with his finger, and three balls of fire materialized before him, and went barreling toward the creature. They caught on the robe and it went up in blazes. The thing screamed out in agony before it apparated away just as Dumbledore, Mcgonnagal, and Snape rushed through the door. Draco was staring at his hand in amazement, as was Hermione and Harry.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked as he looked from Harry, to Hermione, to Draco. Since he did not receive an explanation from the two Heads, he returned his attention to Harry.

"What happened Mr. Potter?" He asked. Harry simply pointed at the two Heads and shook his head in disbelief.

"Mr. Malfoy? Ms. Granger?" asked Dumbledore once again. The two looked at each other with shocked expressions on their faces.

Harry watched Dumbledore, and thought that he saw a glimmer of amusement dance in his eyes.

The Headmaster turned back to the two other professors and murmured a few instructions. He then returned his attention to the students and drew his wand. He pointed it at the ceiling and muttered a few spells for protection and support for the damaged ceiling.

"You are all safe now. I suggest that you all get some sleep." He turned and swept out of the room. Hermione turned to Harry. She tried to give him a hug, but couldn't seem to bring herself to. She was too shaken. He smiled sympathetically and motioned for her to go with Draco back to their rooms. Draco stared at them for a moment, but turned away when Harry tried to send him a weak smile and a "thanks." After all, even if Harry didn't like Draco, he just saved one of his best friend's lives.

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Draco and Hermione walked down the empty hallway in awkward silence. Neither of them could explain what happened back there. Nothing could really explain why they both suddenly had this unimaginable power. Well, they could both speculate about it, but neither of them would ask the other about what they thought. So, they both remained in the dark and simply questioned blindly about what had happened.

Hermione assumed that it had to do with Eustacia. She thought that Draco had been denying his feelings for her. Perhaps he only pretended to hate Eustacie, and perhaps he only pretended to like her. Maybe the hunger for power was simply too much for him to resist.

Draco didn't really know what was going on. He still hated Eustacia. In fact, he loathed her even more now. Maybe there was something going on that was deeper than he could understand. The thing that had been sent after Hermione was obviously sent from the Dark Lord. There was no question about that. The question was, why her? Why not attack Potter. If the Dark Lord was finally able to actually get one of his own into the school, why did he not take advantage of the situation and send him after Potter. Why waste time and energy simply to destroy one measly mudblood? And then there was the power. How is it possible that she could have that much power? _He_ and Eustacia were supposed to be powerful of course, but that was because of the prophecy. But maybe that wasn't the prophecy at all. Maybe that's what the Dark Lord had told him about the prophecy. Maybe, he was the one with the power, and he could transfer it to any one he wished. Voldemort knew that, so he was making Draco marry Eustacia so that he would know the power would fall on the Dark side. That kind of made sense. Hermione was in trouble, so he transferred some of his power to her. Maybe that was it. Or maybe he was meant to be with her instead. Maybe that pounding adrenaline rush was not the power of the fight, but the power of her arms wrapped around him. Maybe.

Maybe wishful thinking.

They had reached the entrance to the Head's tower. Hermione was about to step through the portrait, but Draco stopped her with his hand. She turned back towards him and felt her heart pounding in her throat.

He didn't love her. He couldn't love her. At least, that's what she told herself.

He pulled her closer.

He couldn't love her. He was getting married over break. He was leaving in four hours, at 7 am. He would never be able to look at her again. He would never be able to dance with her again. He would never be able to laugh with her again. He would never be able to talk with her again. He would never be able to touch her again.

Hermione began to cry.

"I'm leaving at seven." he whispered. There was a horrible pain in his voice. Draco had never felt such pain in his life. "I don't want to go." he added, his voice so quiet Hermione could scarcely hear it.

"Then don't." she responded. He stared into her eyes, such open and trusting eyes, such caring eyes, yet so empty. They were calling to him. She was calling to him.

His heart was calling to him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. She threw her arms about his neck, running her hands through his hair.

The need to be with her was so strong, so weakening. He pushed her against the wall and kissed her harder, wanting to relish every moment, every sensation. Everything he would never experience again.

Hermione felt silent tears running down her cheeks. She couldn't let herself believe this was real. She couldn't let her heart betray her head.

She pulled him closer, wanting to quench the urge to have him with her. Something, she was convinced, would never happen again. She would die alone, with the incompleteness of the magic that had bound them together.

He pulled away and looked down into her eyes. His reluctance to leave her was destroying him. His heart ached. He had to acknowledge it. He could not deny it.

The magnetism pulsed between them steadily. It was calming.

They looked at each other hopelessly. The same emotion, but for different reasons.

He couldn't deal with the pain anymore. Looking at her ate away at his very being. Something that he simply could not have, yet wanted and needed more that anything. He felt his heart breaking, as did she.

"Goodbye." he whispered hoarsely as he turned away from her and trudged through the portrait.

Hermione leaned her head back against the wall and screamed out in pain and frustration.

I've heard there was a secret chord

That David played and it pleased the Lord,

But you don't really care for music do you?

Draco stood frozen in the common room, reliving the short, but sweet, times they had spent together. And imagining the ones they never would.

It goes like this: The fourth, the fifth,

The minor fall, the major lift,

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hermione slowly slid down the wall and sat on the frigid stone floor. She had lost her strength to stand.

Your faith was strong, but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof.

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you.

Draco closed his eyes as he slid his hand up the banister of the spiral staircase. He paused at the place where he and Hermione had crossed paths.

She tied you to a kitchen chair.

She broke your throne; she cut your hair.

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hermione covered her eyes with one hand and clutched her heart with the other in an effort to stop the pain.

Maybe I've been here before.

I know this room; I've walked this floor.

I used to live alone before I knew you.

Draco bit his lip in order to fight back tears of heartbreak. He stood at the top of the steps, longing to run back to the girl who still remained in the hallway.

I've seen your flag on the marble arch.

Love is not a vict'ry march.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hermione stood up and rushed towards the astronomy tower. She had to fight the urge to go after him.

There was a time you let me know

What's real and going on below.

But now you never show it to me, do you?

Draco threw back the door to his room in anger and walked over to his nightstand. He seized his framed family picture and hurled it to the ground, smashing it to pieces.

And remember when I moved in you,

The holy dark was moving too,

And ev'ry breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hermione paused at the already opened door leading up to the astronomy tower. Remembering her trip down it less than an hour ago.

Maybe there's a God above,

And all I ever learned from love

Was how to shoot at someone who out drew you

Draco spotted the crown he had worn the evening before. He picked it up gently, and sat back onto his bed as he lost all the might in his soul to be strong.

And it's not a cry you ca hear at night.

It's not somebody who's seen the light.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah

She ran up the stairs, for fear that her body would collapse underneath her in despair if she moved slowly.

Hallelujah

Draco dropped the crown to the floor.

Hallelujah

Hermione reached the top and burst into the open air.

Hallelujah

He placed his head in his hands and let a tear fall from his eyes.

Hallelujah

She ran to the edge and grasped the side to hold herself up.

Hallelujah

Draco closed his eyes and let out the most excruciatingly painful and heartfelt sigh

Hallelujah

Hermione stared up to the Heavens and cried as the wind whispered around her.

Hallelujah

("Hallelujah" Rufus Wainwright, Track 10 on the Shrek soundtrack)


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hey guys! Your reviews rock! I just wanted to send a shout out to all those who are confused….do not be afraid….for all shall be revealed…eventually. This chapter's kind of short, but I wanted to end it where it ends. Also I wanted to send a shout out to Lydia. Thank you so much! It really makes me feel like I'm a good writer when you still read my story, even when you don't like some things about it. It made me feel great, so thank you so much! And thank you so much to every one else too! You all make my day! Yea over fifty reviews! Thanks so much guys! But anyway I know you all want to get to the wedding, so: Dun dun dun dun...here comes the…

Chapter 7

Hermione awoke the next morning feeling shattered. She had stayed up in the astronomy tower until 5 am. She needed to clear her mind, and being outdoors helped her to accomplish that, or so she thought.

Her head hurt like hell, and it only got worse as she looked at the clock and realized that it was 7:30. She had just missed Draco.

She nestled further into her blankets and tried to will herself to sleep. She sighed and stared at the ceiling hopelessly. She had decided to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas. Perhaps it was a bad idea. She would be trapped in the same surroundings that constantly reminded her of Draco.

She looked to the side and spotted some mild sleeping potion. (A/N: I'm thinking the drowsiness that benadryl gives you, not the hard-core junk) She took a slug and waited for the result to take affect. She needed to sleep. Maybe she would be able to escape the trap of Draco in her dreams.

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"Hermione, help me!" he pleaded. She simply turned her face away. The young man's hand reached out and captured her own. "Don't give up on me, Hermione, just wake up. Please wake up, I lo-"

Hermione's eyes shot open to find a cloaked figure shaking her awake. She instinctively screamed, and so did the cloaked person.

They stumbled back a few steps and the hood fell back revealing a pair of green eyes and red hair.

"Merlin, Ginny! What the heck?" Hermione yelped. She sat up in bed and shot her friend an annoyed look.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she pleaded as she again returned to the bedside and flopped down next to her confidante. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I go." Hermione looked at her confusedly,

"I thought you were staying at the castle with Ron." Ginny shook her head excitedly.

"No!" she chirped, "I'm going to, 'L-a-v-e-n-d-e-r-'s'" she giggled. Hermione raised an eyebrow,

"Sweetie, you just woke me up from a mild sleeping potion, I'm not at my greatest mental capacity. Could you be a bit more blunt?" she asked. Ginny smirked and patted her friend on the head.

"I'm going to Blaise's house over break!" she squealed, obviously pleased with herself.

"Ginny!" scolded Hermione, "Does your mum know? What about Ron? I don't-" Ginny placed a hand over Hermione's mouth,

"Chill out hunny! No, they don't know, but Lavender does and so do her parents, and they're willing to cover for me."

"Lavender's parents are willing to cover for you?" she asked doubtfully. Ginny shrugged,

"Well, maybe they think I'm staying here, and I just couldn't tell my parents I wasn't coming home for Christmas." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"But Lavender knows?" she asked. Ginny nodded her head.

"So does Parvati and Luna, and now you." she took Hermione's hands in her own and looked up at her pleadingly.

"I really care about Blaise, Mione. I think I might be in love with him. I promise I won't do anything stupid." Hermione smiled.

"Ginny, I trust you, but it's Blaise I'm worried about. I mean, he is a Slytherin and hangs out with Pansy and Crabbe and Goyle and-"

"And Draco." interrupted Ginny, "I'm going to the wedding you know." she said as she watched Hermione's face fall. "He doesn't like Eustacia, Mione." she added quietly. Hermione simply shook her head. Ginny sighed.

"If you only saw how you two looked together last night." she mumbled as she got up from Hermione's bed and walked over to the door.

"Bye Mione, Happy Christmas." she said as she opened the door to go.

"Bye Ginny," muttered Hermione softly, "I don't care what you do while you're there, but please, think before you go all the way."

Ginny giggled, "Honestly Hermione, what do you take me for?" Hermione let out a small smile. Ginny winked and shut the door behind her, only to open it again quickly.

"Don't tell Ron." she added. Hermione laughed,

"I won't Gin, don't worry. Happy Christmas."

"Oh, it will be." stated Ginny with a smirk before shutting the door again and scuttling down the spiral staircase.

Hermione could hear her closing the portrait hole shut. She sighed quietly.

"Please don't do anything stupid Gin."

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Draco was standing at the end of the aisle by the altar. He was wearing an incredibly expensive tuxedo. He looked at his reflection in the stained glass window and couldn't help but smirk.

_Damn, I look sexy. _He thought to himself. Suddenly, the organ began to play and he snapped back to reality. The doors swung open and in walked Eustacia in a slinky wedding dress.

He looked up into the choir loft hopefully, expecting to see a girl standing there, waiting to swoop down on a broom and save him. His heart fell. No Hermione.

He glanced back down the aisle to see a frowning Eustacia walking towards him. His eyes scanned the crowd nervously. He spotted Blaise and the Weaselette, but: No Hermione.

He shut his eyes and opened them again

_Crap!_ yelled Draco in his mind, he didn't wake up. This wasn't a dream. Even though it was just like all the other dreams he had dreamt since the night that Hermione had provoked him to kiss her. It was the same thing, he was getting married, and every one was watching, the magical vows were being prepared, only one thing was different.

Hermione wasn't there.

She didn't come flying down from the choir loft. She didn't burst through the doors on a camel. She didn't charge through the wall with a bulldozer.

She wasn't there.

Draco glanced back to Blaise. His friend sent him a sympathetic smile and mouthed the words, "Sorry, mate." He turned his gaze to the redheaded girl sitting next to his friend. She simply smirked and gave the thumbs up sign. Draco looked at her strangely. She smiled at him and mouthed the words,

"Don't worry, she won't abandon you."

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. He immediately thought of Hermione, but told himself Ginny was probably talking about Eustacia and just trying to be smart. He shook his head, and realized that the eyes of the crowd, which had been fixed on Eustacia, were now fixed on him. He glanced down the aisle and saw that it was empty. Joy overwhelmed him as he turned to the Presiding Wizard to tell him that his services were no longer needed since the bride had turned tail and ran, but then his eyes traveled to the spot next to him and found Eustacia staring at him with the strangest expression.

"We are gavered heew today, to witness the mawige, of pwince humpewdink and pawincess buttawcup..." The old man started to stutter and cough uncontrollably. After a few minutes he cleared his throat and spoke again in a lisp free Scottish accent.

"Excuse me, had somethin' caught in me throat." Draco tried to force a smile as he realized how much this man sounded like Hagrid, but couldn't bring himself to form any expression but a frown. He felt too hopeless to even be slightly amused.

"We are gathered here today, to witness the marriage of Mister Draco Malfoy, and Miss Eustacia LaMechante. Now, before we begin the ceremony: Is there any one here who has a reason that these two shall not be wed?"

Draco's eyes perked up. Maybe Hermione was hiding underneath the floorboards.

Silence.

_Please! _Draco cried out in his mind, _someone please be hiding underneath the floorboards. _

But alas, no one came popping out of the floorboards with an expressive heartfelt declaration of why Draco should not be married. He sighed quietly as the P.W. (Presiding Wizard) reached behind him to get the book of marriage spells. After all, this was not a muggle wedding with the "I do's" and so on and so forth. This was a magical wedding. And a magical wedding would require magic.

The P.W. performed a complicated ancient incantation, which seemed to stretch for hours. He then took Eustacia's hand and performed a spell on it. He then reached over to Draco's hand, but was deflected by some invisible force.

The P.W. looked at Draco suspiciously, but saw that the young man was just as confused as he was. He once again tried to take Draco's hand, but no matter how he tried to grab it, he was always forced away.

Eustacia was becoming a bit nervous. How on Earth was she to attain amazing amounts of power if she couldn't marry Draco? She sent Draco the harshest death glare she could muster. He simply smirked back at her, which was probably the wrong reaction because she was now convinced that he had something to do with this sabotage.

After a few moments of the P.W. contemplating, he returned back to the lectern.

"Well, that part of the ceremony is not necessarily needed, so we'll just skip that." He said with a toothy smile the congregation. He opened the magic book to another page and stretched his arms out in front of him as if getting ready for a strenuous work out.

"This is the part of the ceremony when we will perform the bond binding spell. This will join these two young people together forever magically, physically and legally." Announced the old man the group gathered.

Draco groaned inwardly. This was it. After this spell, he would be trapped to this French slut for flipping eternity.

_Unless I jump off a bridge or something_ he thought. _No, not a good idea. The death curse is much simpler. God, why am I thinking like this? Please Hermione! Save me!_

Just as he thought this the P.W. opened the book.

_Please please rescue me Hermione! Do something!_

The book suddenly burst into red, silver, green, and gold flames. Everyone jumped back about ten feet. Women screamed in shock. Men gasped in awe. Children giggled with joy, it was the fist thing to happen that they actually found interesting and amusing.

Ginny stared at the flames and looked over to Blaise.

"Do you see what I see?" she asked shakily. He turned and looked at her with a mixture of awe and fear etched in his eyes.

"Yes." He whispered. They both turned and stared at the flames and let their eyes travel up to the smoke cloud it was creating.

The silver and green smoke had separated and formed the letters: _DM_

The gold and red smoke had drifted apart to form the letters: _HG_

Eustacia screamed as she recognized what the letters stood for. She backed away from the altar. She screamed again, this time directed as Draco. She lifted her trail up and dashed out of chapel followed by a few bride's maids.

Draco's eyes followed her out and turned back to the flames still burning strong on the stand. He to followed the trail of smoke, and saw the two initials in the air.

"Hermione…" he whispered in disbelief as the two set of letters intertwined to create a huge black cloud that began to spread and consume the entire chapel.

Every one started panicking and running every which way. Draco stood there frozen in his spot. His limbs were frozen and his mind was unable to function. Blaise and Ginny rushed past the masses of people exiting the chapel accompanied by screams and chaos, and grabbed Draco. They tried to pull his from his spot, but could not succeed. Ginny shook his arm violently.

"I told you she wouldn't abandon you didn't I?" she screeched over the unbearable noise. Draco shook his head and stared down at Ginny in disbelief.

"Hermione." He murmured. Ginny nodded her head and pulled on his arm even harder.

"Now, don't you want to get out of this smoke so that you can breathe? I'm sure Hermione wants you alive the next time you see her." She yelped.

Blaise was getting impatient with his friend's stubbornness. He kicked Draco in the back of the knees causing him to crunch over.

"Damn it, Blaise!" he yelled. Blaise shrugged as he picked up Ginny and threw her over his shoulder.

"You weren't moving." He stated as he grabbed the back of Draco's collar with his free hand and dragged him out behind him and Ginny. Draco managed to squiggle out of his grip half way down the aisle and run along side the other two.

"Wait," started Draco as he trotted alongside Blaise, "how did you know that she would save me?" he asked Ginny as she bobbed up and down over Blaise's shoulder. She shot Draco a strange look and rolled her eyes.

"I just know these things." She said with a smirk. Blaise chuckled at this comment. Draco sighed in exasperation and glared at the Gryfinndor.

"How did she do it?" He asked. "Is she here?" He glanced around the smoke engulfed empty chapel to see if he had missed her.

"No, she's not here." Ginny stated as she tried to reposition herself on Blaise's shoulder. "She is most probably in her room in the Head's dorm."

The three finally exited the chapel and ran around the corner of the building where no one was standing.

"How did she do it though?" he asked again as Blaise placed Ginny on her feet. "And why did she do it?" Ginny sighed in frustration.

"If you're really that curious, why don't you just go ask her yourself?" she snarled. Draco stared at her for a moment, and then, without warning, he apparated away.

"You shouldn't have told him that." Blaise muttered with a smirk. Ginny shrugged.

"I don't really care." She snorted. Blaise chuckled and shook his head. "Besides," she continued, "It gives us _alone_ time." She whispered as she trailed her hands up his chest and around his neck. Blaise's eyes widened with shock. After a moment, he recuperated and once again flung Ginny over his shoulder and the two apparated away as ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Sorry it was short! You guys are awesome!


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Sorry about the shortness of that last chapter and the lateness of this update. I've been emotionally distraught. My boyfriend and I broke up and I saw him one and a half days later and he already has another girl! Gah! It is at times like these when I need Sean Biggerstaff to burst through my door and declare his undying love for me in that sexy accent…..sigh…..ehem…well anyway, it's not an excuse, it is simply an explanation. Enjoy the chapter….

Chapter 8

Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch a few hours ago. It was day after Boxing Day, and as a result she was absolutely exhausted. Her eyes fluttered as she recognized the sound of rustling cloaks in the entrance way to the common room.

She got up immediately and wrenched her wand from out of her pocket. She jumped behind the couch and peaked her head out one the side of it so that her face was framed by the stand next to the arm of the couch. She glanced around and bit her lip, wishing desperately that she had had Harry's invisibility cloak.

She sat there for about ten minutes waiting for any sign of movement near the entrance of the Head's common room, but saw, nor heard anything else. A horrible thought suddenly struck her. What if the person in question had an invisibility cloak? She sat up behind the couch, her face so close to it that she could smell the material of it. She slowly turned around and saw a tall, black….

"Draco?" she yelped. There he stood, platinum blond hair slicked back, dressed in a tux, a worried and questionable expression cast across his face. Hermione jumped up from the ground and flattened out her hair and clothing with her hands.

Draco stared at Hermione grooming herself for a moment, and then became impatient. He grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to stop fidgeting and look into his stone gray eyes.

"How did you…." He trailed off, gazing into her amber eyes, her tussled chestnut locks framing her face. He drew her into an embrace and kissed her.

Hermione melted in his arms. He pulled away and looked down at her.

"You saved me." He murmured. Hermione stared at his face for a moment unblinking. Had he figured out what she had done? She glanced down at his left hand and noticed that it was ring-less. She looked back up at him, not knowing quite what to say. She hadn't really planned for this to happen.

"You didn't marry her?" she asked tentatively.

"If I had, if I had been bonded to the bitch, would I be able to do this?" and once again, grabbing Hermione round the waist, pulled her into a passionate kiss. He pushed her against the back of the couch. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to give in to that strange sensation burning in her heart. After about what seemed like a blissful eternity, they broke apart.

They just stared at each other, neither knowing exactly what to say.

"So," continued Hermione, "I'll take that as a 'no.'" Draco smiled at her. He brushed back the hair out of her eyes, and suddenly realized that his family would probably be wondering where he was.

"I've got to go Hermione." He whispered. "What happened at the wedding was suspicious enough, I've got to go back and convince them that I didn't do anything." He walked away and was at the portrait hole when he glanced back at her. "And convince them that you didn't do anything either." And with that he disappeared, leaving Hermione feeling satisfied with the success of her bond binding spell, but she was strangely apprehensive. She felt like she had made her way through a particularly nasty storm, only to find that there was a much larger and foreboding one waiting for her in the near future.

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Hermione waited by the Entrance Hall to greet the students coming back from break. She hadn't heard any news from Ginny or Draco. She was still feeling incredibly apprehensive, so she chose to believe that no news was good news.

The massive doors opened and all the students rushed inside to get away from the bitter cold and rapidly falling snow. Hermione rushed around helping various first years move away from the crowd so that they wouldn't get trampled on by the larger upper classmen. Her eyes scanned the crowd for Ginny. She spotted a whirl of red hair and pushed her way through the sea of students to get to her.

"Gin!" she called. Her friend spun around and smiled brightly. She hurried over and embraced her.

"Oh my sweet Merlin, Hermione." she said, her eyes twinkling, "I have SO much to tell you!" Hermione smiled.

"I'm sure you do Ginny. Um, do you need help with your trunk?" She had noticed that Ginny seemed to be struggling with carrying her luggage.

"No, no," she answered with a wave of her hand, "I'm fine. I'm just tired that's all." Hermione nodded, but picked up one end of the trunk anyway and helped her carry it upstairs to the Gryffindor Girl's Dormitory. Ginny heaved her trunk to the side and flopped down on her bed with a sigh. Hermione sat down next to her.

"So, how was staying with Blaise?" she asked. Ginny smirked and was about to open her mouth and say something, but Hermione put up her hand to stop her.

"Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know." she muttered. Ginny rolled her eyes and giggled.

"It was _good_." she answered. Hermione shuddered.

"Yea…I didn't need to hear that." she murmured. Ginny simply laughed again. "Tell me about the wedding." Hermione said as she leaned against one of the posts of the bed.

"Oh God, it was awesome! It was like being in an action packed movie!" she said, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Do go on."

"Well, it was obvious that Draco was freaking out and stuff." Ginny continued, "I mean, you can't help but feel bad for the guy. And everything seemed pretty normal until the Presiding Wizard tried to take Draco's hand. It was like there was some invisible force preventing him from being able to get Draco and the French chick to join hands. And then things started getting really freaky when they tried to perform the bond binding spell between the two of them." Hermione's eyes perked up.

"They tried to do the bond binding spell?" Hermione asked. Ginny nodded and continued to recount the scene.

"It was so strange. The P.W. started to read the incantation from this book and the thing just burst into flames." Hermione gasped. "It was so weird. They were different colors too. Gold and green and stuff, and then the smoke kind of drifted up into the air and formed both your's and Draco's initials." Hermione gasped again. "And then the initials drifted together and created this huge cloud of black smoke that just filled the chapel. Everybody panicked and ran out of the place. Me and Blaise-"

"Blaise and I." Hermione interjected. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, we had to drag Draco out of there. It was like he was in a trance or something. And then he started asking where you were and what you had done, and I told him to go ask you himself."

Hermione sat there speechless. She didn't really know how to react to this.

"I think I need to go talk to Dumbledore." she whispered hoarsely. She patted Ginny on the head and stood up. "You need to get some sleep Gin," she added, "you look really worn out." Ginny smirked again. Hermione shook her head at her friend and walked out of the Dorm.

Her mind was racing, but it seemed to be moving in slow motion at the same time. Draco knew that she had something to do with the sabotage of the wedding, but what did he know exactly? And if he knew, who else did? That's what was really bothering her. If Draco knew, then some one else must have caught on that she was to blame for the ruined marriage. What if Mr. Malfoy had caught on, or even worse, Voldemort? Was she at risk for being attacked? Since she destroyed the prospects of Eustacia's and Draco's wedding, were they going to turn around and destroy her?

She found herself standing at the gargoyle concealing the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Crunchy frog." She mumbled. She stepped onto the moving spiral staircase and stared down at the stone step carrying her up to the Headmaster's office. She knocked softly when she had reached her destination.

"Enter." Came the voice from behind the door. She opened the door slowly and stepped into the office. Dumbledore looked up from his desk and smiled warmly at the Head Girl. "Ah, Miss Granger, please sit down." Hermione did as she was told and lowered herself into a chair.

"Is anything troubling you Miss Granger?" he asked sincerely with a concerned expression. Hermione looked up into the blue eyes of the Headmaster and nodded.

"It's about Draco's wedding sir." She said as she wrung her hands in her lap. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, I understand that it didn't go exactly how Mr. Malfoy and Ms. LaMechante had planned." He said looking across the desk through his half-moon shaped glasses.

"Yes, the whole thing was ruined," stated Hermione, "and I think that people who were present at the wedding might know that I had something to do with it." She paused for the Headmaster to say something, but when he remained silent, she continued.

"Draco knew that I had something to do with it, but he doesn't know what. Apparently a spell book had burst into flames and the smoke had formed our initials. I'm worried, that since Draco assumed that they were my initials, perhaps someone else would have recognized them as mine also." She glanced at Dumbledore as he simply looked down at his desk and nodded.

"By 'someone' I assume you mean someone associated with Voldemort?" he said, looking up at her. Hermione nodded. Dumbledore returned the action and placed his hands on the table, the tips of his fingers together in a very characteristic gesture.

"This is certainly a possibility, but the odds of the Voldemort actually trying to attack are very slim." Hermione was about to bring up the incident before break, but decided to remain silent.

"Voldemort will probably not recognize the bond binding spell right away, and when he discovers that there _was_ a previous bond, he will not necessarily assume that _you _had something to do with it. It is more probable that he will assume someone else, such as myself, preformed the spell without the knowledge of you and Mr. Malfoy. However, I can understand your concern, and I must assure you that Hogwarts is safe, and no harm shall come to you within these grounds.

"However, on the subject of Mr. Malfoy, I would still keep the bond a secret. Do not tell him that you had something to do with it. Voldemort might use Legilimency against young Mr. Malfoy in order to find out who caused the sabotage. Therefore, I will caution you in disclosing any information concerning this topic with Draco. You understand?" Hermione nodded, but then another question popped up into her mind.

"Sir," she asked, "why was I able to perform all that magic the night after the dance, in the Gryffindor common room. I wasn't even trying to do-" Dumbledore smiled and put a hand up stopping her mid sentence.

"All will be revealed in due time Miss Granger, but now I'm afraid that this is not the place or time to answer that question. Now, I think it would be best for you to return to your common room and rest, it has been a long day for you I am sure." Hermione smiled weakly and nodded. She got up, left the office, and traveled back down the spiral staircase.

_Something isn't right, _she thought to herself as she walked down the hallway. _What isn't he telling me?_

She didn't know why, but there was something about the amused glint in Dumbledore's eyes that irked her.

_Something definitely isn't right. _

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Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at a desk in the back of the potions room. Hermione kept glancing over at Draco, who was sitting in between Blaise and Pansy.

She was half-way through the potion, with Harry and Ron trailing behind her a step, when Dumbledore walked into the room and went over to talk to Snape. She looked at the two of them suspiciously as she realized she was missing the next ingredient for the potion. She walked over to the potions cabinet and scrounged around for the ingredient she was lacking.

At the same time on the other side of the room, Draco realized that he had been using the wrong straining instrument. He carried his book back with him towards the cabinet, looking intently at the picture of the correct utensil. So intently that he didn't notice the brunette in front of him.

Hermione turned around at that exact second, causing a massive collision. The book went flying across the room and hit Snape in the nose. The thick brown liquid that Hermione had been carrying in a jar covered her blouse. Both she and Draco had fallen to the ground bringing a caldron and smashing a few vials on the way down.

Draco was laughing hysterically as Hermione hopped up from the floor with a disgusted expression as she looked at the damage done to her shirt. Snape stormed over to them and looked at Hermione viciously.

"100 points from Gryffindor for hitting a teacher." He snarled. Hermione looked at him incredulously.

"But it was an accident! Sir! That's not fair!" she cried with the look of disgust still plastered across her face.

"Fine," howled Snape, "no points shall be deducted, but you'll have detention for a month!" Hermione's jaw dropped. She stood frozen for a few seconds, but then she regained her senses.

"But sir, he broke the vials and spilt all of the liquefied wombat hair. And, he spilled it on me, which is just as bad as you getting hit in the nose because liquefied wombat hair has the same toxicity as three ounces of nuclear waste!" she said defensively.

Snape growled at the Head Girl and turned to the laughing Draco.

"Detention for a month." The professor stated reluctantly. Draco stopped laughing immediately and looked as if he had been slapped in the face. Snape turned on his heal and walked back to the front of the classroom. Draco lifted himself up from the floor and smiled bitterly at Hermione.

"Well," he said as he looked from her wrecked shirt to her face, "this should be interesting."

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Hermione and Draco were on their way to their first detention a week later. Both were complaining bitterly.

"Seven years of kissing up, and this is my reward? A month's detention!" snapped Draco as he and Hermione walked towards the dungeon.

"I can't believe Professor Dumbledore didn't do anything to stop it all. I mean he was standing right there. He could have at least persuaded Snape to give a lesser punishment." She grumbled. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Like that old coot would ever do anything to help _us_ out. Honestly Hermione, the only student he would rescue from detention would be Saint Potter." He stated with harsh resentment. Hermione merely shrugged.

_I bind myself to Draco Malfoy…the least he could have done is stop me from getting detention. Gah!_

Hermione sighed and shook her head as they took the last flight of steps down to the dungeon. They both grew slower and slower with each step. Both reasoned that walking slower would stretch their time of freedom before doing meaningless busy work. Draco reached for the door handle that led to the dungeon corridor, but he paused.

He glanced at Hermione with a strange glint in his eye. Hermione looked at him suspiciously.

"Yes?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Draco simply smirked as he let his hand fall from the handle and turned to face her. Hermione found herself trapped in the corner.

"Draco?" she asked once again.

"Hmm?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and brought his other hand up to her face, brushing the hair from her eyes.

"What are you doing?" she whispered. Draco didn't answer, possibly because he didn't know how to answer her, or possibly because his mouth was already busy kissing her.

_What is he up to? Why does he keep doing this? _She thought to herself. She pushed him away gently.

"We don't want to be late, now do we?" she asked. Draco frowned.

"Speak for yourself." He mumbled. Hermione just laughed and opened the door. Draco followed after her, his eyes scanning the ground.

"We don't want to be _late DO _we?" he mocked. Hermione yelped and stopped walking suddenly, causing for Draco to walk into her.

"What?" he snapped, "It wasn't that mean!" But then his eyes traveled up the floor ahead of them and he saw what had made Hermione stop.

There on the floor, in a pool of blood, lay Professor Snape.

"Oh my God!" muttered Hermione as she rushed over to the body. Draco followed quickly behind her. She knelt down and looked up and down the corridor helplessly. It would take much too long to run for help, and what if the person who did this was still in the corridor? Draco knelt on the other side of the Professor and put his ear to his chest. He looked up at Hermione.

"He's still breathing, and I think I hear a heart beat." He stated. Hermione touched Snape's arm and without warning, a white light shot out her fingers and coursed through the Professor's limp figure. Hermione jumped back, her eyes wide with fear and surprise. Draco looked at her amazed. He then looked down to the Professor. He reached out to touch his head, and the same white light shot out from his fingers and hit the opposite wall.

The light hit an old crack in the stone, and to the two teens' amazement, the crack sealed shut. They looked at each other and at the exact same moment, reached out and grabbed either of the Professor's arms.

The entire corridor was bathed in a bright white light. After a few moments, when the light had slowly faded away, they both looked down at the Professor. The blood had disappeared, and the Professor got up slowly from the floor. He groaned and put a hand to his head. Then he whipped out his wand and pointed it at Hermione, then at Draco. He looked at them confusedly and placed the wand back into his robes and stood up suddenly. Draco and Hermione followed suit. They walked after Snape into the potions classroom. Snape walked behind his desk and took out an old book and tossed it onto the desk.

"For your detention, you shall go through every single page of this book and re-write it into this book." He stated as he reached in his desk and pulled out a new book.

Hermione and Draco looked at each other.

"Are you alright sir?" asked Draco, "We found you passed out and bleeding in the hallway just a moment ago. Are you sure you don't want to go see Madame Pompfrey?"

Snape looked at him strangely, as if Draco had just told him that the Ministry of Magic had been unexpectedly taken over by the Spanish Inquisition and Azkaban now employed soft cushions and comfy chairs as forms of torture.

"Are you sure that _you_ do not require medical assistance Mr. Malfoy?" he asked. Draco opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, thinking better than to retort. Draco shot Hermione a look as if to say, _"What in the Hell happened back there?" _Hermione simply shrugged and grabbed the two books off the desk and brought them over to a desk on the left side of the room next to a window.

"Sir?" Hermione inquired, "can't we just use a jinxed quill and dictate what's in one book to the other?" Snape looked at her with a blank expression.

"I suppose you could do that if you are fluent in Middle English. But I doubt that even you, Miss Granger, could be gifted with such talent." Hermione's jaw dropped.

"Wait, we have to translate this book from Middle English into Modern English?" she asked, wanting to make sure she understood the task she had to accomplish. Snape smirked.

"Yes, and I doubt that Mr. Malfoy will be of any help, considering his overly excitable imagination this evening." stated Snape as he whirled out of the room in a swirl of cloaks.

Hermione sighed, sat down and opened up the old book and began to read silently to herself.

_Whan that June with his showres soote_

_The droughte of March hath perced the roote_

_And bathed every veine in swich licour_

_Of which vertu engendred is the flowr_

_Whan Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth…_

"What in the bloody hell is all this?" snarled Draco as he looked over her shoulder. Hermione sighed and looked at him.

"This is Middle English." She stated pointing at the book in front of them. Draco looked at her with a blank expression.

"Alright, and how exactly are we supposed to translate this?" he asked. Hermione shuffled through the pages.

"Well, it's actually quite simple. There are many similarities between Middle and Modern English. It's just certain words that aren't easily identified. This is going to be very tedious work." Draco rolled his eyes, but then his expression altered suddenly and he once again possessed a strange glint in his eye. He grabbed the back of her chair and spun it around so that she was facing him.

"Hermione, I really think we should do something to get rid of all our excess energy before we delve into such a demanding task." He whispered with a seductive smile gracing his features. Hermione got up from the chair and edged away from him.

"And how do you suppose we could do that?" she asked. She could almost feel her sense of control leaving her as she spoke. Draco snickered as he cornered her against the desk.

"I think you know what I'm thinking." He whispered in her ear. Hermione shivered. She perched herself up on the desk in a last ditch effort to avoid the inevitable.

"Um…" she started, but stopped when she felt Draco's warm breath on her neck. His hands wrapped around her waist pulling her closer, his lips grazing her neck softly.

And there it was again, that strange urge to be near to him. It was stronger than ever now. Her thoughts stumbled over each other in her mind.

_How can the spell be getting stronger? This doesn't make any sense, _she thought, but then all thoughts were swept out of her mind when Draco's lips finally found their way to her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and caressed his hair.

Draco smiled into the kiss as he pushed her back onto the desk.

"I want you." He whispered as he kissed her harder. Hermione shivered as his body inched closer to hers. But then they both froze. For both thought they had heard the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat. Draco looked up from his current spot on top of Hermione on the desk. His heart sank when he saw Peeves floating over them.

Peeves looked as if he were about to throw up for a moment, but Draco wasn't worried about that, considering that ghosts were incapable of carrying out normal bodily functions. But then an expression that was much worse appeared on the ghost's face. It was a look of sheer delight, mischief, and evil.

"Peeves…" started Draco, but before he could plead with the ghost, he had sped out of the room screaming

"Malfoy wants Granger! Malfoy wants Granger!" at the top of his lungs. Draco sighed and collapsed on Hermione. She patted his head sympathetically.

"Some how it doesn't seem as appealing when he says it."

AN: I'll try to update very soon….but I might not for a while because I will be going to Canada for a week and a half. But fear not, I shall return to my home from Canada with even better ideas for dear Draco and Hermione. And I would love to hear some of your ideas and predictions…some of you are definitely on the right track….heehee!


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I'm baaaack! Canada was absolutely gorgeous! I had so much fun! Thank you all for waiting! Please don't hate me! Things are going to get very interesting very soon, but the present is necessary before we continue on to that interesting future...

Chapter 9

After a very long and tedious detention, Snape came back and dismissed them. Both the Head's decided to inform the Headmaster of the odd behavior of their Professor.

"I'm glad the two of you brought this to my attention." Dumbledore stated as he looked across his desk at the two students. Hermione was very flustered at the Headmaster's lack of concern or interest.

"Sir, with all do respect, don't you think you should do something about this?" Draco asked with a condescending expression. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Has it not occurred to you that something has already been done?" asked Dumbledore. The Head Girl and Boy exchanged baffled glances.

"Sir, I'm very confused about all this. I mean, what exactly happened? Professor…I mean…we saved…I-" Hermione stammered. Dumbledore put up his hand, silencing her.

"I assure you that everything is completely under control and that your beloved Professor Snape is perfectly fine. Now," he said looking from Hermione to Draco, "I must insist that you both go back to your quarters and get some much needed rest. I assume that translating history books from Middle to Modern English can be very strenuous."

And with that statement, Draco and Hermione got up and exited the office. Once they had turned the corner to the corridor that led to the grand staircase they expressed their thoughts.

"Bloody old idiot!" snarled Draco, "You would think that it's perfectly normal to find teachers cut up and bleeding on the floor! I mean, honestly…" he trailed off and simply grumbled under his breath. Hermione was equally as frustrated and there was now no doubt in her mind that Dumbledore was hiding a great deal more than she thought.

"And how did we heal him anyway?" asked Draco. Hermione shook her head, snapping herself back into reality. She shrugged at Draco's question.

"You've got the prophecy." She stated. Draco nodded, but then turned to her again.

"But how come you did too?" he asked. Hermione felt her heart kick up three notches.

_Blast! _She thought, _what on earth do I say! Dumbledore told me to avoid this subject, and he obviously knows something I don't, so I better take his advice._

"Um," she mumbled as she scrounged around her mind for a sensible response, "Well, " she said with a smirk, "I _am_ the brightest witch of our age." Draco looked at her with a doubtful expression and simply laughed.

Hermione looked at him, obviously offended, and punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, as he stumbled back a few steps. He glared at her for a moment as they both stopped walking. Then a familiar smirk began to spread across his face. He tackled Hermione against the wall and began to tickle her fiercely. Hermione screamed with surprise and batted her hands at him in an attempt to get him to stop. She managed to break free and scuttle up the first flight of steps with Draco dashing after her.

By the time they got up to their dorms, they were both panting and laughing hysterically.

"I had no idea you were that ticklish." Smirked Draco as they climbed through the portrait hole. Hermione smirked back at him and slapped his arm.

"I had no idea you could run that fast." She said as she shook her head and collapsed on the couch. Draco laughed and sat down next to her. They both rested there in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"You're fun." Stated Draco. Hermione smiled and shook her head.

"You're fun too." She said as she rested her head on his shoulder. Draco smiled to himself.

"I like you Hermione Granger." He said looking down at her. Hermione looked up and smiled back.

"I like you too Draco Malfoy."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Um, Ginny?" asked Hermione cautiously as she sat at the Gryffindor table at breakfast later that week.

"What Mione?" she asked as she took her goblet in her hand and swirled the pumpkin juice inside of it.

"Aren't you going to eat? I mean, aren't you hungry?" she asked as she looked at her red-headed friend with obvious concern. Ginny just smiled.

"Nope, I'm not that hungry. And besides," she said as she looked over towards the Slytherin table, "I'm saving up for tonight." Hermione followed Ginny's eyes and spotted Blaise Zabini. She turned and looked at her friend suspiciously.

"Exactly what activity are you saving up for?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow. Ginny looked confused for a moment, but then giggled.

"Oh sweet innocent Hermione!" she laughed, "Eating would be beneficial because it would give me energy, if I was going to be doing _that._" Hermione shuddered and Ginny laughed again. "No, Blaise and I are going to sneak out and go to dinner in Hogsmeade. He says he's going to surprise me. Oh Mione, I'm so excited!"

And it was very clear to Hermione that her friend was excited, so she did not scold her for breaking the rules as she usually would. She simply sighed and patted Ginny's shoulder instead.

"Be smart and have fun." Hermione said as she got up from the table to head down to potions. And then added as an afterthought, "And don't get caught." Ginny giggled, glanced over at Blaise, and then back to Hermione.

"I think I already am."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Draco, what does love feel like?"

Draco nearly choked at this question and gaped at Blaise

"How in the bloody Hell would I know?" he asked. Blaise shrugged and stirred his potion silently. "And what on Earth would possess you to ask such a stupid question?" Blaise stopped stirring and glared at Draco.

"It is _not_ a stupid question." He snarled. Draco was alarmed at this sudden display of hostility, but passed it off as Blaise being in a bad mood. Draco clapped his hand over his friend's shoulder.

"What's wrong mate?" he asked with a smirk, "not getting any from the Weaslette?" Blaise chuckled as he looked down at the potion and continued to stir.

"No, that is definitely not the problem." He said. Draco shuddered.

"I don't think I want to know. I mean, she seems like a nice girl, but…" he trailed off and nodded his head back at Ron, who was sitting a few desks behind, "if she comes from _that _gene pool…" just as he said this, Ron's potion made a loud popping noise and spewed a green pudding like substance all over the desk. Draco heard Hermione curse under her breath and chuckled.

"Yeah," stated Blaise as he looked over at Ron with a mixture of disgust and pity, "But Ginny isn't like him at all. She's so incredibly intelligent, and talented, and beautiful, and she's pretty darn good in the sa-"

"You can stop right there." Interrupted Draco, "I definitely do NOT want to know." Blaise simply laughed and returned his gaze to the simmering potion.

"I know, I know," he murmured, "she's still a Weasley." Draco nodded and was about to say something, but Blaise wasn't finished. "But what if she became a Zabini?" he asked.

Draco's jaw dropped so low that if it had fallen any lower, it would have unhinged itself.

"Are you bloody insane?" he hissed, "how can you even consider marrying her! I mean, it's her, and…" Draco struggled to find an obvious reason why this idea simply wasn't plausible, "and, well, it's…um….you." Blaise sent Draco a skeptical look.

"I mean, realistically Blaise, we're not even out of Hogwarts. Do you really want to get married now? At our age? And I mean, once you're there you can't go back. You're stuck for life. Do you really want to be stuck with _her._" Blaise seemed to have drifted off into a dream-like state, but managed to nod his head in response. Draco sneered at him.

"Now this is just disgusting." He mumbled as he tended to his own potion. Blaise snapped back to reality.

"Draco," he said in a whisper so that no one else would hear, "I think I love her." Once again, Draco nearly choked.

"Mate, " Draco started, he was about to say something derogatory or sarcastic, but when he saw the look in his friend's eye, he stopped himself. "Um," he sputtered, "All I'm saying is think about it. Really think about it. Like, really hard. I know thinking doesn't come naturally to you, Blaise, but this is a big deal. You don't want to break your own heart, or hers for that matter. Just think mate, you don't want to get caught to soon."

Blaise just smiled,

"I think I already am."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione, Ron and Harry were walking up the steps to Defense Against the Dark Arts class after lunch. Hermione was still concerned about Ginny; the poor girl had barely even drunk anything.

"Ron," started Hermione, "has Ginny, you know, ever had any issues with her appearance?" Ron looked at Hermione as if she had hit him over the head with a brick.

"Um, no, not that I know of." He said. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well that doesn't tell me much." She muttered. Harry chuckled.

"What on Earth is that supposed to mean!" he cried. Harry laughed even harder. Hermione sighed.

"Nothing Ron, nothing." She stated, "you're just not the most observant person, that's all." Ron appeared to be confused again, but after a few minutes, he simply shrugged.

"Alright," he said, "good enough for me." Hermione just smirked to herself.

"Hey, what was that?" asked Harry raising an eyebrow at Hermione.

Now it was Hermione's turn to be confused.

"What was what?" she asked. Harry looked at her suspiciously.

"You smirked."

"Yes," Hermione said slowly, "what's the problem."

"It was a very Malfoy-esque smirk." Stated Harry.

"Harry, you're being ridiculous." Muttered Hermione as she began to walk a little faster. She wanted to get to the safety of the classroom. Class meant no more discussion, at least for Hermione. But she couldn't escape that easily, for Ron and Harry simply matched her pace.

"Hermione," ventured Harry, "Do you _like _him?"

"Harry, what a stupid question to ask, of course I do."

The words were out of her mouth before she even formulated her thoughts to say them. The trio had stopped walking. Ron and Harry simply stared at each other. Hermione stared at the wall in front of her. She didn't know what to say.

"I…I…" she stammered, but she couldn't manage to spit anything out that made sense. Ron finally managed to place a hand on Hermione's shoulder, but he seemed just as tongue-tied as she was. Harry was the first one to speak.

"You think it's the spell?" he asked. Hermione shrugged, she was really confused about what was going on inside her head, and in Draco's head, and in Dumbledore's for that matter.

"I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Dumbledore is hiding something from me,

but I have no idea what." Said Hermione as the trio recommenced their journey to class.

"I always thought that he was hiding something. He always seemed a bit more feminine than he ought to be." Suggested Ron. Harry tripped and fell flat on his face. Hermione started to laugh hysterically.

"Ron you're insane!" she managed to say before hunching over the banister to keep herself from collapsing from laughter. Harry remained on the floor, gawking up at Ron.

"I was kidding you know." He said as he offered his friend a hand. Harry took it but instead of getting up, he dragged Ron down onto the floor violently.

"That wasn't very funny mate." He said as he punched Ron in the arm with a smile. Ron looked at Harry, pretending to be very much offended.

"I beg to differ my friend, and I offer Hermione Granger hunched over the banister laughing as proof."

"Not much proof if you ask me Weasley. It doesn't take much for that one to succumb to laughter." Muttered Draco Malfoy as he passed in front of the trio with Blaise Zabini, "I mean, all she has to do is look in the mirror."

Ron and Harry whipped around to look at Hermione. They expected her to be extremely upset. The two boys, however, had failed to see that strange mischievous glint in the blond boy's cool gray eyes. The girl, however, couldn't have missed it. Harry and Ron looked at her cautiously, but her reaction was far from what they expected. She had stopped laughing and was now shooting a teasing glare at Draco.

"Well at least I don't cry when I see my reflection, unlike you." She smirked. Draco looked shocked, yet pleased by her counterattack.

"Many girls cry over the very same countenance. Is it a crime to have an appreciation for beauty? Such awe-inspiring looks should evoke tears, and rightfully so." He said with a very matter-of-fact attitude. Hermione stood there with her hands on her hips looking at him defiantly. She then turned to Ron.

"You know, maybe he's the one hiding something." She said with a smile as she joined Harry and Ron by the entrance of the corridor leading to class. She looked back at Draco and let her eyes travel over him in a very obvious and deliberate manner. "Yes," she said to Harry and Ron, although her eyes were locked with Draco's, "_he_ is definitely more feminine than he ought to be."

And with that closing statement, the golden trio departed down the hallway leaving a trail of laughter behind them. Blaise turned to Draco.

"You like her, don't you?" he asked with a knowing smirk.

"Of course I don't" said Draco, but his spreading smile and faint blush appearing on his cheeks told otherwise.

"Yeah," murmured Blaise with a smile, "that's what I thought."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione, Ron and Harry sat in the front row of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Draco and Blaise sat in the second row, one column over. They were all waiting a turn to go through the obstacle course that the Professor had set up for them in the empty adjoining classroom. A majority of the class had already been through the course, so they were simply waiting for the last few classmates to finish. It was taking a rather long time for the class to complete the lesson because only three students were allowed to go at a time.

This left most of the class incredibly bored and teacher-less. The result being that the entire room was buzzing with meaning-less gossip, involved conversation, and the occasional spit-ball.

Hermione had informed Harry and Ron of everything that went on with Dumbledore and Professor Snape, although she left out the little scenario featuring her and Draco on top of the desk. However, they began to lose interest when she told them about the context of the book she had been translating, so she let them lapse into an involved conversation about quidditch. Hermione had no interest in the subject, so she did one of the things she was best at: listening. She directed her auditory attention to the two Slytherin boys sitting a row behind her.

"Draco, when's the last time you got laid?" asked Blaise as he tipped back his chair and placed his feet on the desk. Draco placed his hands over his face and shook his head.

"Don't remind me mate, please don't remind me." Blaise laughed.

"Well, quite honestly, I would feel lucky that Eustacia didn't touch me. God knows where that girl has been." Muttered Blaise. Draco removed his hands from his face, revealing an expression of pure disgust.

"I don't think God knows either, because if he did he would have given up on the human race." This stirred up a great deal of laughter between the young men, and they continued to slam the evil skank. But then, Hermione's attention, as well as the rest of the class's was distracted by the emergence of Peeves.

He raced around the classroom shouting at the top of his lungs,

"Malfoy wants Granger! Malfoy wants Granger!"

Hermione and Draco sent each other a knowing look. They seemed to understand what the other was thinking. Hermione slapped a look of disgust and surprise across her face and Draco began to laugh hysterically. Crabbe and Goyle grunted along with Draco, but the rest of the room remained silent, even after Peeves had flown away.

"Hey!" cried Blaise, pretending to forget that the rest of the class was listening, "that's an idea!"

"What?" asked Draco, doing a good job at covering up his not-so-amused emotions.

"You should get in Granger's pants!" laughed Blaise. Draco wanted to slap his friend, but instead he chuckled.

"Right!" he said, as he nodded sarcastically, "Like I would want Granger to get on me!" he laughed. "Besides," he continued as the bell rang, signaling the end of class, "She probably wouldn't even _let_ me get it on with her." Hermione grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder as she stood up.

"Of course I wouldn't" she said as she walked past Draco's desk. She looked over her shoulder and smirked at the two boys, "You would have to by me dinner first."

And with that departing statement, she exited the room, leaving a very confused class, an amused Blaise Zabini, and a frighteningly thoughtful Draco Malfoy

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione and Draco were very close to the end of their month of detention. However, they were not even nearing the end of their daunting assignment. Hermione wasn't particularly distraught about not being able to finish the translation, but she would have liked to have understood the entire context. It seemed like a bunch of ancient gibberish to her. Draco referred to it as,

"The mushy-overly-emphasized-junk-about-some-muggle-purblood-power-thing"

Or something along the lines of that. He changed his terminology for it, but his attitude towards the book remained the same.

"It's bloody frustrating," he had said, "not being able to piece something together when you know it's all supposed to fall into place perfectly. I mean I'm sure it's supposed to make sense, but without all the information it's bloody confusing, and bloody frustrating."

It was about the same way Hermione had been feeling for the past few months. She couldn't keep her mind quiet. She simply had to find out what Dumbledore was hiding, so once again, after one of their last detentions, she ventured to the Headmaster's office and traveled up the moving spiral staircase.

"Sir, I'm very confused." she said as she sat across from Dumbledore at his desk. He simply nodded and smiled.

"Many young people are confused at your age." He stated with some amusement evident in his features. Hermione stared at him for a moment, but continued on, pretending that that comment had not been made.

"Sir, is there something about the spell that you aren't telling me?" she asked.

Dumbledore became serious and looked Hermione straight in the eye.

"I have not withheld any information from you regarding the bond-binding spell." He had said it with such conviction; Hermione had a hard time believing that he _had_ been lying. He seemed so honest, he couldn't possibly have been lying to her. But something still didn't feel right.

"Sir, I just, well…" Hermione had a hard time articulating what she wanted to say. The Headmaster's response had thrown her off guard.

"Are you unsure about the affects of the spell?" he asked. Hermione figured that that was one of the things that she was wondering about, so she might as well figure that out.

"Yes, What are the affects on Draco and I, well, on our emotions supposed to be?" She looked at the ground; she felt somewhat embarrassed by the question. However, this action caused her to miss Dumbledore's expression. If she had only been looking up, perhaps she would have seen something in those eyes that would have given it away. And perhaps she would have been able to prevent that foreboding storm cloud that was fast approaching from being so fierce.

"The bond-binding spell is very ancient and complicated magic." Dumbledore stated, "The aftermath of such a powerful spell can vary greatly depending on who it is cast upon. However, it is perfectly normal for the spell to cause, shall we say, fonder feelings between the people on which it is cast. But, the spell can also be very mild. And it is also not uncommon for feelings to spring up on their own accord between the two who are destined to be together."

Hermione nodded in understanding, but before she could ask anything more Dumbledore told her that it was very late, and that she had enough to think about for the time being. And so Hermione left, feeling very unsatisfied.

Hermione trudged back to the Head's dorms. She was trying to convince herself that the feelings that had developed between her and Draco were merely the work of magic, but the more she told herself this, the more she realized that she was lying to herself.

She really _did_ care about Draco.

It was a harsh realization, but it wasn't really a negative one. Except for the fact that she now had to wonder whether Draco felt the same way, and if he did, did he care for her on his own accord, or because of some ancient magic.

But she didn't have to wonder for much longer.

She crawled through the portrait hole and walked into the common room. She took a few steps before she actually looked around the room.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks.

The lights had been dimmed and candles were lit and floating around the couches. There were roses sitting in a crystal vase on the coffee table and the vase was surrounded by some of the most delicious looking food Hermione thought she had ever seen.

She didn't notice the person standing behind her until his arms had enclosed around her waist and his head rest on her shoulder.

"I didn't buy it," Draco whispered, "but I hope that a dinner I made myself would suffice."

For the first time in her life, Hermione Granger found herself absolutely speechless.

AN: These next couple of chapters are very difficult for me to write...I keep on confusing myself...so please bear with me, and if you have any ideas/suggestions/predictions, shout 'em out! I looooooove hearing from you guys! You all rock my sox and my old gym shoes!


	10. Chapter 10

AN: PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE don't hate me! author gets on knees and begs Life has been incredibly crazy, and my updating will be very infrequent, and I'm sorry that this chapter is kind of short, but it's very important. I want to clarify that everything in this chapter takes place in the same night; it might seem kind of confusing. alright, sorry for the inexusable wait, but ill explain after,

Chapter 10

"You…you…you…." Hermione couldn't speak, she could only stare. Draco smirked behind her, absolutely pleased with himself.

"I know," he said with a sigh of satisfaction, "you're completely speechless." he stated, as he let his hand drift from her side and he moved around to face her. Hermione nodded blankly, her eyes still plastered on the scene in front of her. She barely even noticed when Draco took her hand and led her over to the table and gently sat her down.

"Why did you…how did you…I don't understand…" murmured Hermione as she found her eyes locking with his across the table. Draco shook his head and chuckled.

"Eat now," he ordered, "ask questions later." Hermione simply continued to stare at him blankly. Draco shrugged and picked up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and twirled it around menacingly between his fingers. His gray eyes traveled over her mischievously. Hermione finally started to snap back to reality.

"What are you doing?" she asked with an eyebrow raised suspiciously. Draco shrugged and rested his elbow on the table casually as he continued to twirl the spoon.

"If you're not going to eat…then we might as well have another one of those glorious food fights. I am simply contemplating where to target my first attack." Hermione snorted with laughter and picked up her spoon.

"Fine, fine," she mumbled with a shy smile and she sampled some mashed potatoes. "Draco!" she exclaimed, "These potatoes are heavenly! What did you pay the house elves to make them?"

"I told you I made it all myself darling. Honestly, do you think I would lie to you?" he asked, a innocent smile gracing his lips. Hermione stared down at the food in front of her for a few minutes.

"Yes," she answered playfully, "I do think you would lie to me." Draco reached across the table and stroked her cheek.

"No Hermione, I would never lie to you." he stated. Hermione blushed at Draco's sincerity and returned her gaze to her plate.

They talked and laughed all the way through dinner.

"Oh Merlin Draco!" Hermione exclaimed once they both had cleared the table. "I'm so full I feel like I'm pregnant." They both laughed and flopped down on the couch next to each other.

"Wow, I must be talented." stated Draco as he stroked his chin to mimic deep thought, "I can impregnate a girl without even touching her." Hermione slapped him playfully on the arm.

"I said I _feel like _I'm pregnant, not that I _am _pregnant." she giggled. "Besides," she continued, "you would have to marry me if you _did_ get me pregnant. I don't think either of our families would take kindly to illegitimate children." Draco shrugged and looked into her eyes.

"I would have no objections." he whispered.

Hermione stared at him blankly.

"What?" she asked. She could feel her hands shaking in her lap. She wanted to look away from him, but she couldn't move her eyes from his. She began to feel the magnetic attraction beat through her. She desperately needed to change the subject.

"Well anyway," she murmured, "I don't understand why you would go through all this trouble for me." She smiled at Draco, but was surprised to see his expression darken a little. He seemed slightly frustrated and hurt at the same time.

"I don't know what to tell you Hermione." He sighed, "If you can't even see the reason why, then I guess I don't see it either."

"Well Draco, I…you see…I guess…understand that…I-" Hermione stumbled over her words. He had completely caught her of guard in every aspect tonight, and rendered her absolutely inarticulate.

Draco smiled at her sad attempt to respond.

"Don't worry about it. You want to play wizard chess?" Hermione nodded, and she observed him as he got out the board and set up all the pieces.

Once again, he was laughing and smiling, but his eyes seemed to dull every time he looked at her, hiding the hurt inside.

_How could she not see it? _

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Earlier that evening, another Malfoy had met in a very different context, with very different people, with very different intentions.

"It was that girl," snarled Eustacia in Mr. Malfoy's ear, "that stupid filthy mudblood!"

"She is not stupid if she managed to perform a spell as complex as the bond-binding spell." Hissed a cold voice from across the table. Eustacia snapped her attention to the direction of the voice, and lowered her head in respect.

Voldemort stood up and paced around the room, spreading an inexplicable chill through everyone's spines. After a time, he stopped and turned to face the group assembled.

"There is no way around it." He finally admitted. Eustacia shot up from her chair.

"No! After all of this! How can you say that there is no way around it!" she exclaimed, flailing her hands around like a caged bird.

Voldemort's cold red eyes fell upon her and caused her to cease movement.

"Perhaps it was not meant to be." He hissed.

"How? The prophecy…it…" began Eustacia, but she stopped at the sight of that cold red stare.

"This is not the first prophecy that has caused me trouble. The only thing to remedy this is to destroy the girl." He muttered with a stony indifference.

"Then destroy her." Barked a deatheater from one of the places around the table.

"I am afraid that would be time and talent wasted." He murmured thoughtfully as he recommenced his pacing. "Her death could complicate matters even more. I _will _find a way"

After a few moments, his eyes fell on Malfoy.

"Imperious."

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That very same evening, at a closer setting…

"Albus, you _do _know what you're doing, don't you?" asked Snape as he stood across from the Headmaster as he sat in his desk. Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head.

"Indeed I do Severus, and the magic that took place in the hallway gives me even more reason to believe myself correct."

Snape began to pace back and forth nervously.

"We're playing with fire Albus. If I hadn't put a shield spell over myself I don't know what would have happened. They are more powerful than they realize. They could hurt people when they don't even mean to." Snape stated coldly. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, but if you actually _had_ been hurt and your injuries _had not_ been an illusion, then they would have saved your life."

"We can't be sur-"

"Severus," muttered Dumbledore as he looked across the desk at the professor through his half-moon glasses. "If I have learned anything from all my years on this earth, I have learned that we can't be sure of anything in this world. However, I am sure of this."

Snape stared at the Headmaster.

"What will happen when it happens, when they get stronger?"

Dumbledore looked at Snape and sighed.

"They're teenagers Severus, I don't think we'll have to wait long to find out."

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"Stop it Draco!" squealed Hermione as he toted her up the stairs over his shoulder. Draco laughed as he reached the landing and walked toward the entrance to her room.

"It's only fair," he stated as he kicked open the door and walked through to threshold, "you said I could carry you up the stairs if I won."

"I was kidding!" she screeched, "I didn't actually think you would _want _to carry me up the stairs!"

Draco laughed again and plopped her down on her bed. She sighed and rolled on her back as Draco sat down on the side of the bed and looked down at her.

"I'm tired." She said as she looked up at him.

"Me too." He said, with that sad dull look in his eyes.

"But I don't feel like going to sleep." She stated. Draco nodded in agreement,

"Neither do I."

Hermione looked up at those sad eyes that had now turned away from her and felt a pain shoot through her heart.

_I love him_

She suddenly felt like a huge butterflyhad found it's way into her stomach and wedged itself there. She felt a familiar magnetism pull her lips apart to speak.

"What would you say if I told you I had a crush on you?" she asked with a small smile creeping onto her features. Draco's eyes immediately lost their dull overtone.

"I would tell you I felt the same way." He stated with a genuine smile beginning to form. He looked into her eyes and felt his heart well up inside of him.

_I love her_

"What would you say if I told you I thought, that on my part, it was more than a crush?" he asked as he inched closer to her, increasing the desperate and powerful pull between them. Hermione felt herself weakening by the second.

"I would tell you I felt the same way." She said softly as she propped herself up on the bed. "What if I told you I've never felt this way about anyone before?" she whispered aching for the distance between them to disappear.

"I would tell you I felt the same way." He answered as he wrapped an arm around her and drew her up next to him. "What if I told you that I want you more than anything in the world? What if I told you I need you to function properly? What if I told you that it drives me crazy every time we're close like this, because no matter how close we get, it never seems to satisfy me?"

Hermione brought a hand to his face and pushed the hair away from his eyes.

"I would tell you that I could make that crazy feeling go away. I could do something to satisfy you." She murmured.

"And what exactly would you do to accomplish that." He asked as he wrapped both arms around her waist and pressed her body against his. Hermione pulled him back on the bed with her.

"I can think of a way."

AN: I'll leave the rest to your dirty imaginations. So, here is why I didn't update as fast as I should have:

I had four books to finish/start and write commentary on for AP English, and then I had three huge family parties, started my senior year, tried out for the musical, (it's cinderalla this year, and im the fairy godmother), found out one of my oldbuddies is really sick, and i also have college apps and something else i have to write, so all my creative energy was completely zapped. oh, and now im getting a D in physics because I've never had trig, so...like I said, it was in excusable to keep you all waiting, but at least I haven't abandoned you! luv y'all, and please review!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I had this written a long time ago, but i never got around to posting it because i never got a chance to proof read it. I always read it like, three times over, and i still miss stuff. well, i didn't for this one, but if i waited till i did i waould never get it up. sorry for the long wait. please dont hurt me. long story short, someone died and i got distracted. enjoy...

Chapter 11

Hermione awoke the next morning wrapped in warm covers…and warm arms?

"Sweet Merlin!" she yelped as she glanced next to her to see a very naked Draco Malfoy. His eyes shot open and locked with hers.

"No, the name's Draco." He said groggily as he rubbed his eyes and sat up in the bed. Hermione stared at him.

"I did not do _that_." She said, although she fully knew that she had done _that._ Draco simply smirked at her and kissed her forehead.

"Oh yes you did."

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Hermione lowered herself carefully onto the bench next to Ginny. She pulled a piece of toast onto her plate and took a gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Good morning." She mumbled as she picked up the Daily Prophet and scanned the headlines. Ginny was looking at Hermione intently.

"You jumped him last night didn't you?"

Hermione spit her pumpkin juice out on the paper, causing the small people in the pictures to flinch in disgust.

"What on earth did you just say?" she screeched, her eyes widened with fear and reproach. Ginny smirked at her friend and patted her on the back.

"It's ok. Just warning you, you're definitely gonna be sore for a while." She said flipping her red hair over her shoulders. Hermione stared at Ginny in disbelief, her mouth hanging open. Ginny shook her head. "Close your mouth Hermione, you look strange like that." Hermione shook her head and did as she was told.

"How- how- how can you tell?" she asked.

"The look on your face says it all. Your demeanor is practically screaming, 'I'VE LOST MY INNOCENCE!'" Ginny stated dramatically. Hermione looked around nervously to see if anyone else had noticed this evident change.

"Are you serious?" she asked anxiously. Ginny snorted.

"Hell no, Blaise told me that Draco told him that you had, ehem," she cleared her throat and lowered her voice to a hoarse whisper, emphasizing each syllable, "_sexual relations."_

Hermione stared at Ginny.

"Who else did he tell?" she asked, feeling a bit betrayed. She didn't think that Draco would turn around and blab what they had done to the whole school.

Ginny shrugged.

"I don't know. I doubt he would have told anyone else, but he and Blaise tell each other everything. They're kind of like male versions of us." She stated. She suddenly gasped and grabbed Hermione's hands in hers. "Oh my sweet divine Merlin! We can go on a double date!" she squealed. Hermione sighed and shook her head.

"You crazy girl." She murmured as she got up from the table to leave. Ginny giggled.

"I want details later!" she called. Hermione laughed and shook her head as she walked out of the Hall.

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"Holy shit Blaise…" Draco sighed as Blaise gazed across the room at Ginny.

"I just want to be with her Draco," he gushed, "more than anything else in the world." Draco stared at the redhead, trying to see what Blaise found to be so incredible. Instead, his eyes traveled to the brunette sitting next to her.

A smile formed immediately on Draco's face. Blaise glanced at his friend and smirked.

"Well it appears I'm not the only one who's become completely smitten." he said, elbowing his platinum blonde companion in the rips.

"Son of a muggle!" he exclaimed. He glared at Blaise and punched him in the stomach.

"Watch what you say. She _is_ a muggle." Blaise stated as he clutched his stomach. Draco gaped at him.

"Are you kidding? She's the greatest witch of our time! She's almost as good as me." He boasted. Blaise laughed.

"Mate, she's a hell of a lot better than you, and you know it." Draco glared at Blaise and got up from the table.

He mumbled something under his breath and stomped out of the Hall. Blaise shook his head.

"Well somebody's in a bad mood."

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the back of the Potion's room and watched Professor Snape scratch instructions on the board. Hermione was copying it all diligently on her piece of parchment. Harry and Ron were whispering about something concerning quidditch or another subject of equivalent unimportance.

Hermione glanced up from her notes and looked off to the side. Her brown eyes were met by a pair of grey ones. She blushed and glued her gaze to the board.

She felt so self-conscious around him now. It was all too awkward, and she found herself regretting her decision of being with him. Sex changes everything, but somehow, Hermione had overlooked that fact, or simply failed to realize that it could change things in a negative way.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she muttered to herself.

"Brew your potion Miss Granger." answered Snape, who was suddenly towering over her. Hermione yelped, a normal reaction that expresses surprise. However, the yelp caused a very abnormal reaction. The three caldrons that were sitting on the table in front of the golden trio were suddenly thrust from their spots and flew across the room crashing into the wall. The three nearest windows cracked and shattered, spilling shards of glass onto the stone floor. Hermione was about to scream again, but Snape placed a hand over her mouth.

"Miss Granger," he stated, "report to Madame Pomfrey's immediately." He released her from his grip and she scampered out of the room, but not before sending Draco a frightened look.

All the students stared at their Professor, waiting for further instructions.

"Well? Get to work." He stated as he glided back to the front of the room and took his place behind the desk. After about five minutes of the students standing in complete silence Snape sighed and dismissed them. Harry and Ron rushed out of the room and headed for the Hospital wing.

"What the in the name of Gandalf was that?" gasped Ron as the two boys rounded a corner at top speed.

"I have no idea," replied Harry, "wait…who?"

"You don't know him, one of Mum's friend's works with him at Mungo's. He's this old guy who claims to have come back from the dead and keeps raving about a bunch of midgets or something. He's completely loony."

"Right…" said Harry as he shot his friend an odd look. However, this action caused Harry to lose sight of where he was going and he smacked straight into Draco Malfoy. Harry bounced right off of him and flew back about three feet in the air before hitting the ground and sliding a couple of meters on the marble floor. Ron stopped dead in his tracks.

"What did you do?" he screeched whipping out his wand and pointing it straight at Draco. Draco put his hands up and stepped back.

"I didn't do anything, Weasel. Pothead simply wasn't looking where he was going." He stated with a bit of a nervous shake in his voice. "I guess I have an aura that repels losers."

Ron advanced on Draco, his ears turning red with rage. By this time, Harry had gotten to his feet and joined his friend.

"Potter, you know I didn't do anything to you." Said Draco, refusing to take out his wand. Harry looked at him suspiciously, but brought his hand up to his friend's shoulder and forced his arm down.

"Forget it Ron," he snarled, "Besides, we have to go to Hermione." Ron nodded and reluctantly shoved his wand back inside his robes.

"Don't bother," stated Draco coolly, "they're not letting anyone in to see her." Harry and Ron exchanged surprised glances. They both tuned to Draco.

"Why in the name of Lord Byron did you try to go in to see Hermione?" exclaimed Ron. Draco sneered at him.

"Am I allowed to visit my fellow classmate and Head of students?"

Ron looked at Harry and turned back to Draco.

"No!" He snapped, "You're not close to Hermione at all! You shouldn't be allowed to visit her!" Draco rolled his eyes and walked past the two other boys.

"I've gotten a lot _closer_ to her than you two ever have." He grumbled as he disappeared down the hallway.

Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks and continued down to the hospital wing.

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"We have to do something! This is getting out of hand Albus, they've become too powerful." Snape said as he paced back and forth in front of the Headmaster's desk.

Dumbledore sat with his hands folded in front of him.

"I agree with you Severus, completely."

Snape stopped pacing immediately and appeared to be somewhat shocked.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?"

Dumbledore looked down at his desk through his half-moon glasses. A silence filled the room for a time before the Headmaster finally spoke.

"We must tell Mr. Malfoy of what has occurred."

Snape stared at Albus in disbelief

"Tell him what exactly? And for what purpose? It wouldn't do any good." asked the potion's master. Dumbledore simply smiled.

"We'll tell him only what he needs to know, but in way so he cannot understand exactly what it means. Send him to me."

Professor Snape nodded and spun out of the room.

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Draco and Blaise sat in the Slytherin common room. After a long and uncomfortable silence Blaise broke the ice.

"Why were you in such a bad mood this morning, mate?" he asked, an expression of obvious concern stretched across his face. Draco shrugged and turned a page in his Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

"I don't know. After-sex shock I think." He said casually as he stared at the page in front of him. Blaise crossed his arms and chuckled.

"Since when have you ever gotten "after-sex" shock?" Draco sighed and looked up at his friend.

"I cant' remember. I usually don't because it's become so casual to me. But it was different with her." he said hesitantly. Blaise nodded, but remained silent, encouraging his friend to go on.

"I actually have feelings for her, and she does for me too, that was probably the difference. The sex had an emotional connotation; it wasn't just a hormonal fix. I'm not used to that." Draco waited for a response from his friend.

"Well," started Blaise, "that's a good thing right?" Draco shook his head and returned his gaze to the crumbling book in front of him.

"Something is really different now. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but everything feels different when I'm around her now. And it doesn't feel bad exactly, but it doesn't really feel good either."

"I think you should talk to her Draco. I personally don't like to talk. It's definitely not my forte, but I talked to Ginny today, and it definitely helped." Blaise stated as he patted his friend on the shoulder. Draco smiled weakly, and decided to change the subject.

"How is the little Weaslette? Still want to make her a Zambini?" He asked he turned another page in his book.

"I don't know. I still do now, but I want to make sure that I really love her and it's not just an intense infatuation. I want to make sure that this love can last even when I'm not with her. I have to be able to maintain my feelings for her without her being with me." He stated. Draco looked at his friend in shock.

"Whoa, I never thought I'd ever hear you say that? It was so….so….so…?" Draco struggled to find the right word.

"Smart? Insightful? Intelligent?" offered Blaise. Draco laughed.

"Yea, one of those at least. So are you going to send her off to Germany or something?" Blaise shook his head.

"No, I'm going to break up with her."

Draco stared at his friend.

"Are you really sure that's a good idea? Someone else might snatch her up while you're sorting out your feelings." Blaise sighed.

"That's a risk I'm going to have to take. Besides, if she starts dating someone else and it turns out that I do want to marry her, I'll just propose and she'll leave him for me." He said with assurance. Draco shook his head and was about to respond when Professor Snape barged through the door of the common room and walked over towards the two seventh years.

"Professor Dumbledore requests your presence, Malfoy. Now." Draco sent Blaise a confused look and shut his book. He got up and walked out of the common room.

He had no idea why he had been suddenly called to the Headmaster. Had he done something wrong?

Of course he hadn't. He was ignorant of the circumstances. He couldn't see the maleficent storm cloud and the immeasurable evil that was fast approaching,

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"I don't know what happened boys, so stop asking me!" Hermione shrieked as she sat upright in a hospital bed. Harry and Ron stood on either side of the bed, each with a concerned and confused expression plastered on their faces.

"Well, ok…" muttered Ron, obviously unsatisfied with that response. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So…Draco tried to come see you after potions today." Stated Harry. Hermione's eyes lit up immediately.

"Really?" she exclaimed excitedly, "I mean…um…that's very nice of him." She stammered, trying to cover up her delight.

"Come on Hermione, out with it. What's going on between you two?" Harry demanded. Hermione looked back and forth between her two best friends nervously.

_If they care, they'll understand _she told herself.

"Well, I…we…" Hermione strained her mind to find the right words to express her feelings without freaking her friends out too much. But then she realized that it didn't really matter how she put it. It would be better to just come out and say it. "We like each other." She said.

Harry and Ron didn't jump for joy. They didn't scream out in rage and rip out knives. They didn't break down on the floor sobbing. They just stood there. They didn't even look surprised. Harry finally spoke,

"And you like each other on your own accord?" he asked.

"I think so. The spell might have prompted it, but I'm almost positive that he genuinely likes me." Hermione stated.

"Why are you _almost _positive? Isn't it rather obvious? He either likes you or he doesn't." said Ron

"Well I suppose he does for sure then," Hermione began, "He acts like he does, and he says that he does…"

"Where's the uncertainty in that?" asked Ron, "Why are girls so unsure of themselves? Forget about the stupid spell. Forget about that ridiculous French chick. Forget about your different pasts. Forget about your two different worlds. Forget about everything else. If you care about him and he cares about you then there really isn't anything to be doubtful about is there?"

Hermione and Harry stared at their friend. Both were in awe.

"Ron, since when do you know anything about relationships?" asked Harry. Ron's face turned bright red and he suddenly found great interest in his shoes.

"I've been reading the, 'W_hat's really going through your warlock's mind?'_ column in the Daily Prophet." he confessed. Harry and Hermione both burst out laughing. "Come on! Girls are so complicated! I want to figure out how they work and how to act around them. It makes perfect sense!" He yelped defensively.

"I know Ron," sputtered Hermione between laughs, "it makes sense. But it's still a bit odd."

Harry had just recovered from his fit of laughter when Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room and ushered them all out, which left Hermione by herself in the very large and very empty hospital wing.

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Hermione had been asleep for a few hours when she awoke to the sound of quiet footsteps approaching her bed. Her back was facing the door and the person who was approaching. She couldn't get to her wand without flipping over and grabbing at it, so she lay there motionless, hoping that Madame Pomfrey had simply come to check on her or Dobby had stopped in to say hello.

The footsteps stopped at her bedside and a voice suddenly a voice resonated in the once silent room.

"Do you have something to tell me Hermione?" asked a shaky male voice. Hermione rolled over in her bed to see Draco Malfoy standing at her side.

Hermione didn't know what to say at first; she assumed he was talking about what had happened in potions.

"I have no idea what happened. I just got scared and somehow the windows broke and…oh I don't know Draco." She said, "I'm so confused right now." She looked at Draco, hoping that he would offer some comforting words or a sympathetic gesture, but instead she saw his head bent, looking down at the floor, his hands in his pockets, and his shoulders hunched up. He looked tense.

"I'm confused too." He said quietly. Hermione thought the way he was acting was a bit uncharacteristic, but she simply thought he was being supportive in a strange way.

"Well, it'll be ok Draco, we'll-" but she didn't have a chance to finish her sentence. For Draco interrupted her as if she hadn't said anything.

"I'm confused about what you've been thinking. I'm confused about what you're feeling. I'm confused," at this point he paused to take a breath and look up into her eyes. He was upset. His grey eyes were burning into hers with a ferocious intensity. "I'm confused about how a girl, who is seemingly gentle and kind, can be such an insensitive, secretive, painfully cruel person."

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"What on earth are you talking about? Where did all of this come from? Have you lost your mind?" she exclaimed. Draco's harsh expression softened.

"No." he whispered, "I've lost my heart."

"Draco, what are you talking about?" Hermione asked as she pushed herself up and tried to take his hand. He flinched and took a step back so that he would be out of her reach.

"I'm talking about you Hermione. The brightest witch of our age..." he laughed to himself and turned to her with an expression of unbearable grief and anger, "I should have known that you wouldn't have been stupid enough to have fallen in love with me."

Hermione moved to get out of bed, but something prevented her from doing so.

"Draco I do care, what makes you think that I-"

"I know about the spell Hermione."

She fell silent immediately. Her mind started racing and her breathing quickened. Her words fell dead on her tongue.

"What were you thinking?" he asked softly with an intensity in his voice that made Hermione cringe.

"I didn't have a choice-" she began.

"Yes you did." Draco interrupted. Hermione glared at him.

"You asked what I was thinking, I would appreciate it if you would let me finish my explanation." She snapped. She was angry that he knew. Dumbledore must have told him. She was positively furious. How could he have done this to her? He had gone behind her back and told Draco.

"I'm sorry," Draco murmured bitterly, "please continue."

"How could I not perform the spell? Dumbledore told me that if I didn't, the entire wizarding and muggle world would be in jeopardy. He told me about the prophecy, he told me what the results would be, he told me to perform the spell-"

"And that was it? You didn't think I would find out eventually? You were just going to let it slide?" he demanded.

"Let me finish!" she yelped defensively, "He also told me not to tell you."

Draco remained silent, so Hermione continued.

"If something happened, how could I live with the guilt of knowing I could have prevented it. I sacrificed myself, how can you be mad at me for doing that?" she asked.

"Oh, you sacrificed yourself? I see now. Heaven forbid being bonded to Draco Malfoy for the rest of your life." He sneered.

"Draco stop! Things were different then. I understand why you're mad-"

"No, you don't understand. I thought this meant something. I actually thought I was falling for someone who genuinely cared, but it was all a lie. You tricked me into believing that you actually liked me. Underneath the surface you probably still think of me as some rotten little ferret.

"I feel used, Hermione."

Draco turned away from her and headed towards the door. Hermione was so shocked she couldn't even say anything. Silent tears were making their way down her cheeks. He was almost out the door when he stopped.

"The worst part is that you didn't even use me for your own amusement, you didn't even use me just because you could. You used me because some old wizard told you to."

And with that he walked out of the room leaving Hermione and her tears alone in the silence.

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AN: Dudes, I apologize…..I've had the worst two months of my life, I'm not even kidding. I don't even want to go into the details, but it was just really hard for me to get back into the swing of things. This chapter is kind of choppy, but think of it as being symbolic as the choppiness that will now be in Draco and Hermione's life. Don't worry people, I'll be back soon. The end is nearing. But I might give up on this unless you all urge me to go on. So please review….it will make me feel better.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I decided I need to finish this...so here's the second to last chapter...I tried to make it one, but i have writer's block so I decided to put up what I have...There might be some discrepencies, but keep in mind I haven't written anything for this story in over 10 months...sorry nervous smile don't hate!

Chapter 12

Two months past. Draco said nothing to Hermione, nor did she to him. They managed to avoid each other very well. Hermione seemed to be able to sense when he was in the Head common room and would just hang out with Harry and Ron until she had a feeling he had left. As a result, the only points at which they had to interact with one another was during class. Therefore making one of Hermione's only joys a complete hell. Hermione was wounded and still mourning her loss, but she had more important issues at hand.

"Ginny, please let me in!" She shouted as she pounded on the door. When Blaise broke up with Ginny, she was devastated. She cried for weeks, put on weight and had become increasingly moody. She also refused to come down to breakfast in the morning.

On this particular morning, towards the end of term, Ron begged Hermione to go get his sister.

"She hasn't been eating lately, what if she's become anorexic." He whispered across the table. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"She's gaining weight, Ron. The idea that she could be anorexic is preposterous."

"What if she's doing drugs in her room in the morning!" he exclaimed. Hermione stared at him blankly. She had become progressively unsympathetic since Draco cut her out of his life.

"You're crazy to think that Ginny," but Ron cut Hermione off

"What if she overdoses this morning, and you, Hermione Granger, will forever have the guilt of knowing you could have saved her-"

Hermione nearly slapped Ron, but decided to go check on Ginny to relieve him of his worries, which is why she now found herself pounding on Ginny's door.

"Let me in for Merlin's sake!" she shrieked. Hermione sighed, about to give up, and gave the door a rough shove. To her surprise the thick oak door trembled and fell with a loud thud, ripping the hinges right off the wall. Hermione stood flabbergasted for a moment, looked around the hall to make sure no one saw her, and silently stepped through the door-less threshold.

She could hear Ginny softly sobbing in the bathroom. Hermione walked over to the door and tapped lightly.

"Ginny, please…what's going on?"

She was answered by louder sobs interrupted by a violent gagging noise. Hermione suddenly felt a pang of fear for her friend.

"Ginny, open this door!." She demanded.

"No!" Ginny managed to sputter in between heavy sobs and another gagging noise. Hermione's fear intensified and before she even reached for the door handle, it swung open violently, forcing Hermione to jump out of the way.

Ginny was in the bathroom, hunched over the toilet, throwing up and crying (not a good mix). Hermione rushed over and held her friend's hair back.

"Oh Gin…" Hermione murmured. "What can I do?"

Ginny stopped abruptly. She turned and stared at Hermione.

"Turn back time so that I never knew Blaise." She snapped. Hermione was somewhat taken aback at her friend's sudden change in demeanor.

"I know you're still hurt but-" before Hermione could finish Ginny cut in again.

"Or at least get this baby out of me." Just as Ginny finished this sentence she collapsed into sobs again. Hermione kneeled next to her, a blank expression on her face.

"Oh my god…"she mumbled, "that explains the mood swings and the weight gain." Hermione looked at her fragile friend. "Does Blaise know?" Ginny managed to shake her head.

"Hermione," she whispered shakily, "will you help me?"

"Yea Ginny, what do you want me to do?" Ginny looked at Hermione with a strange glint in her eye.

"Kill Blaise."

Hermione stared at her friend.

"Are you kidding?" Hermione asked with a nervous chuckle.

"No." Ginny said with a deadly tone. Hermione gaped at Ginny.

"I can't do that." She stated.

"Then you can't help!" Ginny shrieked, and proceeded to throw shampoo bottles and soaps at Hermione. Hermione, still in shock, got up hastily and scuttled out of the room and into the hallway.

As she walked back to the Great Hall, she could feel bruises forming where she had been struck with Pert Plus for Fine Hair and Dove soap.

"Oh Ginny…" she sighed under her breath, "what did you do?"

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After going through an absolutely brutal potions midterm, Hermione stumbled back to her room. She was in a very foul mood.

_Why did I have to take a test today! _she thought to herself, _How could I possibly concentrate when my best friend is pregnant and will never speak to me again unless I kill her ex…_

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't think to check if Draco was in the common room. She simply stormed through the portrait hole and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Draco lounging on the couch. She could feel her heart tremble within her as his harsh gray eyes lifted to meet hers'. His features formed into a snarl as he threw down the book he was reading. Hermione's mind was racing,

_Blaise needs to know about Ginny, but there is no way that he would believe me... _She looked towards Draco and suddenly a thought sparked in her mind.

"Does Blaise still love Ginny?" she asked. Draco's snarl faltered for a moment.

"What?" He asked, "Why do you care?" Hermione's face flushed with anger.

"I care because my friend is a wreck. I'm worried about her personal welfare-"

"Since when do you care about the personal welfare of others, disregarding your efforts to free house elves?" he snapped condescendingly. Hermione stomped over to him.

"We have a problem Draco." She barked. He glared at her.

"No, _we_ do not have a problem. Blaise and Ginny's relationship is not my problem, and it's not yours either." He spat. Hermione placed her hands on her hips.

"No, but it becomes my problem when Ginny expects me to kill Blaise!" She cried. Draco chuckled,

"Poor Ginny can't cope with a little break up? Well, I guess that's just too bad for that stupid red-headed slut." Hermione's jaw dropped at this last comment. Draco got up and started to move towards the staircase, but Hermione's enraged voice stopped him.

"Blaise is the stupid slut; he's the one that got her pregnant." Draco stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"She's gained weight, she has morning sickness, mood swings…" Hermione counted off the list on her fingers. Draco slid back over to the couch and sat down. A moment passed and then he stated,

"We have a problem."

"Told you so."

Draco looked at Hermione.

"Blaise should know about this." He stated. Hermione nodded her head in agreement.

"Find out if he cares about her still. Once you have his answer, tell him that she's pregnant." She said. Draco ran his fingers through his hair in a stressed manner, shook his head, and stood up.

"I'm going now." He mumbled as he climbed out of the portrait hole.

Hermione remained on the couch for a few minutes.

"Thanks Draco…" she whispered, but of course, he was long gone.

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Draco jogged through the halls towards the Slytherin common room. He wasn't quite sure why he was jogging, but for some reason he felt like he had to burn off energy. It was as if the conversation with Hermione had sparked some sort of dormant monster within him.

He suddenly spotted Blaise, and sprinted to catch up with him.

"Hey man," He said as he clapped his hand over Blaise's shoulder, "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Blaise responded as he followed Draco into a nearby corner.

"Do you still love Ginny?" He asked hopefully. Draco wasn't quite sure why he was hopeful. He didn't care about Ginny that much to worry about her.

_Your doing this for Hermione, _a little voice inside him stated. But luckily, the voice was silenced to be replaced with Blaise's.

"Funny you asked," he mumbled, "I've been thinking. Hard. And I can't live without her. These past two months have been miserable for both of us. It just shows that we're meant for each other." Draco suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Great-" he began, but Blaise cut in.

"I want you to help me shop for a ring."

Draco's jaw dropped, but he quickly closed it again. He decided not to tell him about Ginny's current state. He doubted that the fact Ginny was having a baby would sway Blaise's decision, but better not to risk it.

"This is great-" Draco began again, only to be cut off once more.

"So I need you to do me a favor." Blaise stated, his eyes downcast towards the ground.

"What's that mate?" Blaise raised his hesitant eyes to match Draco's.

"I need you to find out what her ring size is." He stated nervously. Draco was a bit confused as to why his friend was acting so cautious, but he figured it was just the nervousness about proposing to Ginny.

"Done." He said, "I'll go ask her now." Draco turned, but was caught by Blaise's hand.

"That's the catch mate. You asking her will be suspicious. I need you to get Hermione to ask." Draco's mind stopped. He didn't enjoy interacting with Hermione, and having to ask her to help him hitch up Blaise and Ginny…well, that would be dreadfully awkward. But his friend needed his help.

"Fine," Draco said reluctantly, "I'll talk to her." He turned and walked down the hall. Blaise's voice echoed down the hall after him,

"I want her advice on the ring too!" Draco sighed and continued to drag his feet towards the common room.

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Hermione was pacing in the common room when Draco returned.

"Well?" She asked, hoping beyond hope that the diagnosis was a positive one. Draco ran a hand through his hair and looked at Hermione.

"He's proposing." He stated. Hermione's heart leapt in her throat.

"Oh thank Merlin!" She squealed. After this exclamation, Hermione proceeded to make three mistakes. She was so ecstatic that this whole situation was somewhat resolved that she instinctively ran over to Draco and gave him a hug. That was her first mistake.

She immediately felt a strangely familiar magnetic pull rush through her veins. Only, this was stronger than she had ever felt before. She pulled back immediately and released her arms from him, but found it impossible to move any further away. Her blood tingled and her hair stood on end.

Draco felt as if his brain was about to explode. The force that seemed to attract the two together was unbearably strong.

"God damn bond-binding spell." He murmured. Hermione looked into his eyes, her second mistake. She was swimming in emotion, things she hadn't thought about or felt in 2 months started rushing back to her. All rational thoughts ceased to flow through her mind. And then, she made her third mistake.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

When she pulled away, his face was one of shock and anger.

"Why did you do that?" He hissed. Hermione was just as shocked as Draco and found her tongue stumbling for an explanation.

"Didn't you feel that?" she whispered timidly. Draco looked like he was about to vomit with disgust.

"Yes," he stated, "And I _never ever _want to feel it again." He then turned and stormed up the stairs.

Hermione stood motionless until she heard the door to his room slam shut. It was almost as if the metaphorical door for her relationship with Draco slammed shut as well, and she couldn't help but collapse onto the floor and cry.

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The next day at breakfast Draco was in a particularly foul mood.

"Good morning mate." Blaise greeted with a nervous smile, "You alright?"

Draco simply grunted and kept his attention on his pumpkin juice and muffin. Blaise waited a few moments to see if Draco's tension levels would subside. Observing that they did not, Blaise went cautiously about extracting his anxiously anticipated and much needed information.

"So did you talk to Hermione about getting Ginny's ring size?" Blaise asked casually, trying to conceal his urgency.

"Damn it," Draco mumbled as he slapped the table, "No, I'm sorry Blaise…we…" he trailed off. Blaise held up his hands signaling for his friend to stop his explanation,

"Don't worry mate. I'll take care of it. I understand." Blaise stated. He glanced over to the Gryffindor table and noticed not only Ginny's absence, but also that Hermione was looking particularly depressed.

_I'll just go talk to her myself. _

He got up from the table mumbling a good-bye to Draco and strutted over to the Gryffindor table.

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Hermione poked at her toast feebly. Harry and Ron were both staring at her concernedly. They had tried prying her open to see what was wrong, but she shot down every attempt they made. They had finally given up and now simply stared.

Hermione let out a sigh that rattled both Harry and Ron's bones.

"Mione…" Harry began, but stopped abruptly as he saw a tall Slytherin approaching the table. Ron almost jinxed him as he approached but luckily he got Hermione's attention first.

"Hermione, I need to speak with you." He stated with a toothy grin, trying his best to be charming. Hermione, sensing Ron's mounting need to blast Blaise's brains out, excused herself from the table and walked with Blaise out into the hall.

Once they were out of sight and earshot, he turned to Hermione with a bashful glint in his eye.

"I don't know if Draco told you…" he began, but Hermione butted in.

"He did." She stated coldly.

"Oh." Blaise stated, a little startled by her harsh response, "Well I was wondering if you would like to help me pick out a ring for her?" Hermione stared at him blankly for a minute, turning the idea over in her mind.

"Yes, I would love to." She stated. Although she was in a horrible mood, and heartbroken all over again, she had to force herself to help. And ring shopping with Blaise might actually be a lot of fun, and he would definitely need her advice. Besides, hanging out with Blaise would definitely piss Draco off. This last aspect was probably the most appealing.

"Great!" Blaise exclaimed, "So, do you think you could subtly get her ring size for me?" Hermione nodded her head,

"Definitely."

Blaise's face lit up so bright, it almost made Hermione's lips curve upwards.

"Awesome! Is this afternoon alright with you to go into Hogsmeade?" He asked.

"I think so." She said, trying to formulate a plan on how to get Ginny's ring size with out getting things thrown at her.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the bottom of the grand staircase at 3:30." Blaise said with a grin. Hermione nodded in acceptance, and they parted ways.

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As Hermione walked through the halls on her way to potions, she heard some rustling and whispered speech. Her eyes traveled over the surrounding area, but she couldn't see any source that the speech would logically come from.

A bit perturbed, she continued on her way to the potions room, and arrived there without any further incidence. She sat down next to Harry and Ron in the back of the room just as the Professor Snape waltzed in.

He immediately began scribbling ingredients for a "poof potion" and the corresponding instructions.

"What in the world is a poof potion?" Ron asked as he reached into his sack and pulled out a parcel full of herbs needed for the potion. Harry shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the cabinets to grab some vials and the ingredients.

"A poof potion allows the user an escape root. When a full vial is thrown to the ground, the potion releases impenetrable smog which gives the user time to run away from his or her enemy/attacker." Hermione explained as she wiped dust out of her caldron.

"Oh," stated Ron, "How come you never hear about anyone using them these days?" By this time Harry had returned to the table and was measuring out ingredients.

"Well, it's rather impractical. Usually when two people engage in a fight or a duel, everything happens too fast for usage of the potion to come into play." Stated Harry.

"Yes, and the smog doesn't repel any spells that are cast, so you're not really protected from harm. It just makes it easier for someone whose retreating." Added Hermione.

"Makes sense," Ron said as he poured in some herb, "So then why are we making it?"

"Contrary to popular belief, you are in school to learn Mr. Weasley. To learn how to make potions, one is required to make them." Snapped Snape condescendingly as he passed by the table.

Harry chuckled and Hermione shook her head.

"That man just pops out of nowhere." Ron whispered as he chopped up some dragonfly spines.

The class passed on slowly, and Harry, Ron and Hermione completed the potion just as Snape ordered them to come up to the desk and place the vials in the container on the desk.

As Hermione was about to place her vial in the container, Snape stopped her. He leaned over his desk and whispered,

"I think you ought to keep that. It could be useful, keep it on your person at all times." Hermione stared at him, it was obvious she was slightly confused.

"But what about my grade?" she whispered back. Snape rolled his eyes,

"It would be a crime for me to give you anything below an 'O' Granger. But if you don't listen to me, you might not have a chance to even receive your grades."

Hermione's eyes widened, but she was prevented from saying anything else. She was rushed out of the classroom by Blaise.

Once they were in the hall, he slammed her into a corner.

"Have you got the ring size yet?" he asked.

"No…" Hermione murmured, still a bit shaken up from her conversation with her potions Professor.

"Well, hurry!" he stated, and he proceeded to run off skipping like a giddy school girl.

Hermione shook her head.

_Well, he is right, I ought to hurry _

She made her way to the Gryffindor common room and entered quietly. She found Ginny sitting in one of the large chairs by the fire.

"Sorry." Ginny murmured as Hermione took the seat across from her.

"It's ok." Hermione stated. Ginny sighed and held her face in her hands.

"This just sucks." Hermione stared sympathetically at her friend. Text books don't teach you how to deal with these sorts of situations. Unless you are studying to be a shrink or a social worker, but that's different.

"Well," Hermione stated as she looked down at her hands, "At least your hands are still skinnier than mine." She immediately gave herself a mental slap in the face, _That was the stupidest thing you could have said…_

However, to her surprise, Ginny chuckled.

"Yeah right…" she muttered.

"No really!" Hermione continued, "Come on I'll prove it! What ring size are you?" _Hermione, _she thought to herself, _you are a genius…_

"I think I'm size 7 ½ for my ring finger…" she mumbled.

"See!" Hermione exclaimed, "I'm a size 8! I told you so!" Ginny smiled at her friend's attempt to make her feel better.

Hermione took her friend's hand in her own.

"We'll get through this Ginny. I promise you."

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Hermione met Blaise at the bottom of the Grand Staircase at 3:30 as planned. As they drew closer to the doors of the castle, Blaise appeared to become increasingly more uncomfortable.

"Um, Hermione…" He began hesitantly, "If you don't want to come you don't have to…" Hermione interrupted him,

"Blaise, of course I want to come," she stated with a weak smile as she opened the door that lead out onto the grounds, "Why wouldn't I?" she said over her shoulder. But, once she turned around and her eyes fell on the figure standing at the bottom of the staircase she felt like running back to her room and slamming the door shut.

"Oh." She said weakly.

"Fuck." Draco said as he sent Blaise an evil glare. Blaise looked nervously between the two and shrugged,

"Look, if I'm going through with this, you two are going to have to deal with each other a lot more. And I need both of you here with me for this. Can we please act like civilized adults? You don't even have to talk to each other, just…please?" Hermione and Draco looked at each other reluctantly and turned back to Blaise.

"Fine." They both sighed in unison.

"Well let's get a move on then!" he exclaimed as he jogged off in the direction of Hogsmeade.

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An hour later, the three students were still ambling through the jewelry store.

"Blaise, was it absolutely necessary to have ran here? My calves are killing me." Hermione murmured as she glanced from case to case of sparkly accessories.

"Stop complaining Granger, I doubt you'll ever have to do this again, for a friend, or for yourself." Draco snorted. That comment was like a stab through the heart, but Hermione chose not to retort, partially because she didn't want to argue, and partially because she had suddenly spotted a beautiful emerald ring.

"Blaise, come look at this." She ordered. Blaise waltzed over and look in the glass case.

"Which one?" he asked excitedly. Hermione pointed towards the emerald ring and watched Blaise's expression change from mild interest to a guise of sheer delight.

"That's the one!" he said excitedly, as he waved his hand for the shopkeeper to come over.

"Excuse me sir," he addressed the flamboyantly dressed shopkeeper, "Do you have this ring in a size," Blaise paused and turned to Hermione, "What size was she again?"

"A size 7 ½." answered Hermione. The shopkeeper nodded, waved his wand and a drawer slid out lined with hundreds of boxes. He waved it again and a box floated on the top of the glass case, the drawer closed, and the case opened, revealing a flawless emerald ring set in platinum.

"Size 7 ½." The shopkeeper stated in a nonchalant high-pitched voice.

Blaise looked from Hermione to Draco. Hermione nodded her head, and Draco simply shrugged and looked the other way.

"What do you think mate?" he addressed him directly. Draco looked down at the ring with an indifferent expression.

"It would bring out the color of her eyes." He stated plainly. Blaise smiled and turned back to the shopkeeper.

"We'll take it." He proclaimed.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"So when are you going to pop the question?" asked Draco as he kicked up a small cloud of dust and pebbles as the three made their way back to the castle. Blaise contemplated for a moment.

"Well, actually I was thinking today." He stated as he clutched the box in his hand. Both Hermione and Draco nearly tripped.

"What are you going to say to her?" They both asked at the same time. Blaise shrugged,

"The truth," he replied, "I broke up with her to test my faithfulness, and the endurance of my love for her. The distance has only caused my feelings to grow stronger. I'll tell her I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and have children with her, and then I'll get down on one knee and ask her to marry me."

"That sounds perfect to me." Hermione said as she gazed off towards the castle grounds. For a moment, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. The hair began to stand on the back of her neck.

"Blaise?" she asked quietly, "did you see any-" But before she could finish her sentence, she was thrust forward onto her face by some unknown force. Blaise whipped out his wand and spun around, Draco rushed over to Hermione and helped her up. As he clutched her arm to pull her up off the ground, a transparent field surrounded the three students.

"We've got to get out of here!" hollered Blaise as the shield repelled three curses all from different directions. Hermione reached into her cloak for her wand, but her fingers found a small vial instead.

"Run!" she shouted as she hurled the vial to the ground with unimaginable force, the potion exploded with a huge boom and sent a enormous impenetrable fog covering the near vicinity.

The three students sprinted towards the castle, they could see the reflection in the cloud of curses being hurled from somewhere behind them. Hermione shot red sparks up into the air, hoping that someone would see and help them. The cloud began to dissipate as they reached the castle grounds, they darted towards the entrance of the castle with desperate urgency.

Hermione tripped and twisted her ankle. She rushed to get up again, and fell to the ground. Draco had continued running; Blaise struggled to pick her up. She screamed loudly, and Draco whipped his head around and scampered back to the place where she lay on the ground. He supported her one her right side and Blaise supported her left, they dashed towards the door. This method proved to be difficult, so eventually Draco yanked Hermione from Blaise's grasp and threw her over his shoulder.

Once they had reached the castle, they looked behind them to see a cloaked figure disappear in the distance. Draco dropped Hermione roughly on her feet. She stumbled and Blaise caught her by the arm and held her up.

"I'm going to see Dumbledore." He snapped. Hermione looked to Blaise and then at the departing Draco.

"We're coming too!" She called after him.

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"Are you suggesting that we regard this as nothing!? That we simply go back to our common rooms and say, 'Oh well, students get attacked on castle grounds all the time. No big deal.' I think not." Barked a very angry Draco.

"Sir, with all due respect, you have told me in the past that Hogwarts is the safest place to be. This incident proves you wrong." Hermione added.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his usual friendly attitude absent, but he did not seem to be as enraged or worried as Hermione thought he ought to be.

"I assure you, we are looking into this as we speak. And, I am not saying that you regard this as nothing Mr. Malfoy, I am suggesting that you go back to your common room and allow me to go out onto the grounds and look around myself. Sitting here and talking to you is not helping solve the issue of who did this, what they were trying to do, why they were trying to do it and how they managed to get so near to castle grounds. I will contact the three of you when I get information, and in the meantime, the security around the castle has been hightened so you need not worry. Now if you would see yourself out?" stated Dumbledore coolly as he stood and motioned towards the door. Draco exited the room in a swarm of fury with a limping Hermione and Blaise following after.

He stormed down the hall before the other two could even say anything.

"Here, let me help you to the hospital wing." Offered Blaise, "We gotta get you something for that ankle of yours."

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Hermione was walking back to the Head's common room after visiting with Harry and Ron. She had let Blaise into the girl's dormitory so that he could go see Ginny in her room. After loud noises and some obscenities, things seemed to have calmed down. Which means that the proposal probably went well, either that or Ginny had killed Blaise and dumped him out the window.

Madame Pomfrey had given her something for her ankle to stop the swelling and the limping.

_Ah, _she thought to herself, _the joys of magic. It can kill you, but it can also get rid of the limp you received from trying to avoid being killed. _

Her mind kept dwelling on the attack today and couldn't help but think that whoever that person was, they were after her, and whatever they were trying to do…well, it was probably meant to cause her harm. The "how" didn't really bother her, and the "why"? Well that was obvious wasn't it? She had been stupid enough to perform that stupid spell.

_What was I thinking? _She thought to herself as she crossed the portrait hole and entered the room only to be asked the same question.

"What were you thinking Granger?" scowled Malfoy from his familiar seat on the couch. Hermione just stood and stared at him.

"Blaise asked me to go along." She said. She turned to go up stairs and lie down, but Draco's cold voice stopped her,

"I was not referring to that particular incident, but rather that hooded person, presumably a death eater, trying to kill us."

Hermione looked at him blankly.

"Well I guess I shouldn't have knocked over his sand castle at the beach that one day this past summer. And I should probably return that Barbie doll I borrowed, I guess he got a little impatient. Woops, my bad." She once again attempted to exit the room, but apparently Draco wasn't finished,

"You put us both in danger because of that stupid spell. Do you realize what you've done? Now some of the most evil, and subsequently powerful, wizards in the world want you dead. Do you even think about what could happen to you? I thought you were the brightest witch of our age, but I cannot seem to fathom someone performing such a spell without regard to the potential consequences. I cannot accept such incompetence from you, Hermione Granger."

She stomped over to him and glared down into his face.

"What do you want me to say Draco?" she snarled, "That it was a mistake? Alright it was a mistake. I fucked up. And no, I don't think I'm a martyr to the cause, you're absolutely right, I'm simply incompetent. Just a stupid, goodie-two-shoes, guilt-ridden girl who let someone take advantage of her blind willingness to please."

Hermione paused for a moment and took a step back from him, shrugging her shoulders in a frustrated manner,

"You are absolutely right, I admit it, it was the stupidest thing I've ever done. Almost as stupid as falling in love with you." And with that, she turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Draco sitting on the couch with a blank look on his face and a horrible feeling exuding from his heart.

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Later that night, Draco had gone to the Slytherin common room to talk to Blaise, but he couldn't find him. He refused to go back to the Head's dorm though. The sheer thought of having to face Hermione made him feel like curling up in a ball and dying.

As Draco sat silently in the now empty Slytherin common room, a cloaked figure was fast approaching the castle with silent determination. Draco slowly dozed off as he sat on the couch, and failed to hear the slow opening of a trap door and the soft footsteps of an intruder moving towards him. His sleeping state also prevented him from putting up any defense when the person raised their wand and murmured something unforgivable…

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Hermione slept restlessly that night, and when she woke up in the morning, she had a strange feeling that something was wrong.

She sat down at the Gryffindor table and glanced casually over at the Slytherin table. Her eyes immediately locked with a pair of dull stony grey orbs that were shooting her the most horrible glare. Draco looked like he was going to jump out of his seat, fly across the hall and stab her thirty times.

Hermione felt like she was going to be sick as a strange tingling sensation shot through her veins. She heard a voice in her head that sounded oddly like Draco's,

"Revoke the spell, or you will have to answer to the rage of the Dark Lord." Hermione stared right back at Draco and clenched her fists instinctively. Draco picked up a glass goblet and crushed it in his hands, keeping his eyes fixated on Hermione's the entire time.

She raised an eyebrow and tried to get up from her seat, but found she had some difficulty. It was as if Draco's eyes were preventing her from leaving.

"The bond must be broken." His voice whispered menacingly. She stared at him with a mix of fear and disbelief, and shot out of her seat and ran out of the hall.

_This is it! _Hermione thought to herself as she stormed through the hallways. _I am going to find out what is going on right NOW!_

She halted at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, stated the password coldly and rushed up the moving staircase. She banged on the door with a force she was unaware that she possessed, and to her surprise, the huge door swung forward with such strength it slammed into the wall and caused everything within the office to shake. Dumbledore sat at his desk, a pleasant expression on his face.

"Ah, Miss Granger, do sit down." His calm demeanor surprised her, but not enough to extinguish her confused rage.

"Sir, what is going on?" She asked with a harsh accusatory tone, "It's obvious that there has been something that you've been hiding from me this entire time, and unless you take me for a dense, brainless, dim-witted teenager who can't tell the difference between apples and oranges on account that my hormonally driven mind is overrun by petty and inconsequential material, you would have the good sense to tell me the truth, sir. I know that you presented this situation and continue to present it as an apple, but truly sir, I can see clearly it is an orange."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses.

"You'll find you're answer here, Miss Granger." And with that, he handed her an envelope. She stared at it, partly satisfied that she got something out of the old coot, and partly disappointed that she was not immediately given the key to the door of realization. She opened the envelope slowly and looked at Dumbledore, clearly shocked.

"A train ticket?" she stammered. Dumbledore shook his head. "Use the floo network to get to Ogilvie Transportation center in Chicago. Then take the train to Winnetka, you will find your answer in a small Antique shop, 'L'Aperçu.'"

"What do I do once I get there?"

"Tell them you wish to inquire about a prophecy, tell them I sent you."

Without further conversation, Hermione rushed to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of floo powder and stated her desired destination, disappearing in a cloud of green smoke.

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That afternoon, Harry and Ron sat in the Gryffindor common room while Ginny flaunted her gorgeous emerald engagement ring. It's amazing how a moody pregnant woman's disposition can change so drastically in such a short amount of time.

"You really don't have to flaunt it Gin," mumbled Ron, rather perturbed that his little sister was engaged and pregnant, "We can see it popping up from your left hand like a lighthouse on a beach."

Ginny simply giggled and spun in a circle.

"You're just jealous!" she squealed happily. Ron growled under his breath and Harry rolled his eyes,

"Of course Ron and I are jealous, we were vying for Zabini's attention for the past seven years, and in comes Ginny Weasely and she rips him away from us. Now neither of us get to marry Blaise, Ron. Aren't you horribly disappointed?"

Ginny placed her hands on her hips and glared playfully at Harry. Ron shook his head and laughed at Harry's comment.

"You bet I am!" Ron stated as he continued to shake his head. "I'm furious with you."

They all laughed.

"Say, did Hermione ever go to breakfast?" she asked.

The boys shook their heads in unison. Ginny sighed dreamily and walked over to the window overlooking the grounds, "I can't wait to tell her how happy I am." She gazed out the window serenely, but suddenly, her expression ceased to be peaceful. "Oh sweet Merlin!" she cried.

The two boys rushed over to her side and matched her stare. Their reluctant eyes recognized a swarm of dark hooded figures approaching the castle, wands raised and sending sparks into the sky. The convulsions and the uniform rhythm of the crowd resembled a great cloud coursing across the sky at a rapid paste.

Harry wrenched his wand from his pocket and clapped Ron on the shoulder. Ron nodded with unspoken comprehension and withdrew his wand as well.

"Go tell Dumbledore, Ginny." Harry ordered as he and Ron sprinted out of the common room. Ginny glanced outside again and noticed a small patch of blond among the black, leading the group ahead. She turned abruptly and ran to Dumbledore's office.

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Hermione found herself standing outside the door of a petit antique shop in one of the obscure little suburbs of an American city. The store was dark and an adorable little sign with a smiling cat on the door read,

"Closed."

Hermione had been standing there for about three minutes trying to decide what to do. She had debated opening the door with magic, but she was in the plain sight of muggles, and with magic ruled out, what was she to do? She couldn't stand there all day. She placed her face up against the shop window and peered inside, everything was dark. She sighed.

_I come all the way out here, cross an ocean and deal with public transportation, and for what? The stupid store is closed and my questions are unanswered. _

But suddenly, she recognized the movement of a human figure in the shadows. She returned to the door and banged on it obnoxiously. After receiving a few weird looks from a passerby, she stopped and moved to the window to see if she had attracted the person's attention. A woman, presumably the shop keeper approached the window slowly and pointed lazily at the sign. She then shaped her rather large toothy mouth to shape the word, "Closed."

Hermione nodded her head, and mouthed the word, "Dumbledore." The shop keeper shook her head expressing her incomprehension of the word and causing her long, skinny, tight fire red curls to bounce up and down. Hermione began to form the letters with her hands, but realizing the eminent failure of that method of communication, she opened her jacket slowly so that the woman could see the pin of the Hogwart's crest shining brightly in the sunlight. The woman's eyes lit up and she hurried to the door and unlocked it, ushering Hermione in.

"I'm sorry," the woman stated as she waved to Hermione to go into a room towards the back of the shop, "I wasn't expecting you." Hermione cast her eyes around the shop casually, taking in the atmosphere. It was neither a stereotypical musty, dusty, obscure and overcrowded shop, nor was it one of the antique shops that have a very small, very expensive collection, with shopkeepers that glare at you if you breathe too hard. Their was a old grandfather clock in the corner, with a few Stieff teddy bears sitting on a shelf next to it, and an old Coke-a-Cola sign from the early 1900s. If she could have described the atmosphere in two words, she would have described it as distant and friendly at the same time, kind of how the Greeks viewed the gods on Olympus.

"Please sit down," the woman chirped with a smile on her face, "So what on earth was your initiative to trek all the way out here to my quaint little shop?" The woman seemed very kind and laid-back. However, she had a horrible American accent. Hermione folded her hands in her lap and looked across the desk where woman sat. It seemed all of her recent conversations of any importance had taken place in this type of setting.

"Well, Dumbledore sent me to have some questions answered." Hermione stated. The woman nodded and took a sip from a beautifully painted tea cup gracefully sitting in a saucer.

"I see," she said as she placed the cup back down. She then fixed her gaze on Hermione's eyes, "About what exactly?"

"Well," Hermione answered hesitantly, a bit intimidated by the woman intense blue eyes. "About the prophecy." The woman's eyes sparkled and a small smile spread across her lips. She then got up and crossed over to a book shelf behind her desk.

"Interesting…you're the girl who did the spell?" she asked as she glanced back over her shoulder at Hermione.

"Well, yes." Answered Hermione, a little unsure of whether she should have disclosed that information. After selecting a crusty looking black book, the woman sat back down at the desk.

"What exactly do you want to know?"

Hermione stared at the woman, unsure of what to say. She was finally offered the opportunity to have her questions answered, and she found herself unable to speak.

She decided to ask whatever popped into her mind first.

"Well, what does the prophecy say about the powers that will result if these two people are joined?" Hermione asked, "Specific examples please." She added as an afterthought.

"Well, if that were to happen, it would be catastrophic. They would have an immensely powerful ability to heal through touch, and they are also able to create a transparent barrier of sorts between them and enemies, this would render them virtually impossible to defeat in battle, because even if some one did manage to break through the barrier, the couple would be able to heal themselves."

Hermione found herself shaking nervously,

"What about inexplicable strength, for example, being able to knock down an oak door simply by knocking on it?"

"Yes, that would definitely be another example." The woman said as she took another sip from her cup of tea, "Also, the ability to communicate non-verbally would occur as well, if eye contact is maintained, an entire conversation can take place across a room." At this point, the woman stopped talking and gazed at Hermione concernedly, "Would you like something to eat or drink dear? You look like you're about to pass out."

Hermione shook her head weakly and swallowed uneasily,

"Could these powers potentially be transferred to a person who was not forseen in the prophecy, but was bonded to them?"

The woman shook her head in response,

"That would be impossible." She looked at Hermione strangely, "Why?"

Hermione's head was spinning and her stomach was doing the Charleston.

"But it doesn't make any sense…" she murmured under her breath.

"What's on your mind?" asked the shopkeeper politely. Hermione's eyes locked with hers.

"This doesn't make sense." She reasoned aloud, "The prophecy was about Draco Malfoy, and a girl born the sixth of December. It fits perfectly with Eustacia. They come from two different worlds, meaning France and England. And although France and England are allies now, they have a long history of combat on the muggle and wizarding side…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on there little missy." Said the woman as she flipped open the book and trailed her finger along the page. "You got the two worlds part right, and the past of hate, but you got the date wrong."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed with wide eyes.

"It's not the 6th of December, it's the 12th of June." She said, "You must have gotten the dates mixed up. Over here, we put the month before the day in the date, they do the opposite in France. Must have been crossed wires." She said with a smile as if this news was of no particular importance.

Hermione's hands her grasping each other so tightly that they were turning white.

"My birthday," she mumbled, "the two differing worlds: the muggle world and the wizarding world, and the past of hate: the mutual hatred that Draco and I possessed for each other…Oh sweet Merlin…"

"What?" The woman asked, unable to understand what Hermione had said. Hermione looked across the desk at the woman,

"I have to go, thank you; you've answered all my questions." And with that, she got up abruptly and rushed to the train station; she needed to get back to Hogwarts.

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A/N: Alright, the next chapter should be relatively short, and it should wrap everything up like a sweet smelling package. once again, sorry for the ridiculously long wait, but you know, shit happens.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Well, here's the last chapter. I had fun writing this. Thanks to all that read, and all the reviews. I'm a little sad that this is over, but who knows, there could be a sequel, or another fanfic more ridiculous than this one in the future. You never know! I LOVE YOU ALL! And keep reading/writing! (p.s. all the names of the hogwarts students mentioned in the following chapter are from the books, I tried to have them all be in Harry's year or younger, but I might have missed a few. If so, let's just pretend they got held back... ; )

Chapter 13

Harry and Ron stood behind the giant doors that separated them from the Hogwarts grounds, and incidentally, the group of fifty or so cloaked figures standing outside.

"Well, what do we do?" Ron asked in a surprisingly calm tone of voice considering the current situation. Harry shifted his weight back and forth from one leg to the other.

"I'm not sure." He admitted.

There were fifty dark wizards out there, what could they do? They could die for one thing. Realistically, two seventh year boys, even if Harry Potter was one of them, could do little to nothing by themselves.

"We're right behind you." Stated an unexpected voice behind them. Harry turned to see Neville Longbottom, confidently leading a group of students.

Harry looked through the crowd and made note of all the faces.

Lavender Brown exchanged looks of encouragement with Padma and Parvati Patil.

Luna Lovegood and Hannah Abbott stood next to each other.

Colin Creevey put his hand proudly on his little brother Dennis's shoulder.

Seamus Finnegan and Melinda Bobbins watched as Dean Thomas withdrew his wand; they did the same.

Susan Bones grabbed Kevin Whitby's hand as Terry Boot gave Mandy Brocklehurst a compassionate hug.

Michael Corner and Justin Finch-Fletchley rested their heads on the shoulders of Emma Dobbs.

Victoria Frobisher passed out bottles of poof potion to Ernie Macmillan, Anthony Goldstein, and Daphne Greengrass.

Andrew Kirke went over various spells to use with Eleanor Branstone.

Morag MacDougal patted Laura Madley's head who had linked arms with Sally-Ann Perks.

Natalie McDonald, Eloise Midgeon, and Jimmy Peakes stowed exploding wizard crackers away in their pockets as Orla Quirke gave Jack Sloper a quick kiss on the cheek.

Demelza Robbins and Patricia Stimpson held on to either arm of Zacharias Smith.

Kenneth Towler exchanged a few words of support with Lisa Turpin.

Romilda Vane and Rose Zeller looked towards the door with an expression of mixed fear and determination.

Euan Abercrombie and Stewart Ackerly shook hands and took out their wands.

Eddie Carmichael stepped up through the crowd and made his way over to Harry.

"That makes forty-three against fifty. Our odds are a bit better now, wouldn't you say?"

"Even better still with forty-nine against fifty." Stated Blaise as he approached the crowd with Theodore Nott, Adrian Pucey, Malcolm Baddock, Miles Bletcheley, and Millicent Bulstrode in tow. They all withdrew their wands and joined the crowd.

"We stand together." Millicent said with strong assurance.

Harry nodded his head and looked back at Ron.

"Alright," he stated with one last look around the crowd, "we're as ready as we'll ever be I suppose."

"And even more prepared with your professors of course." Said Dumbledore as he walked into the entrance hall, followed by the staff of Hogwarts and Ginny Weasley.

She ran to Blaise and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You left me once, you can't leave me again." She kissed him sweetly on the lips and backed away from the group, "So kick their asses and get back here." She exclaimed with a smile.

"We all ready?" the headmaster asked with a glance around the room. He nodded affirmatively to Harry.

"Alright, whether we win or we lose, we stand together!" he exclaimed, and with that the doors flew open and they all stepped outside.

The opposition stood silent, motionless. The only thing moving were the robes they wore, at that was merely on account of the wind.

As Harry and the group moved closer to the hooded figures, it was clear that Draco Malfoy was leading them. His eyes seemed rather dull, emotionless, glazed over to a point. Harry looked to the side of Draco and his scar began to burn fiercely.

"Voldemort." He murmured aloud.

"Yes, Harry." The Dark Lord stated as he took a step to seperate himself from the group. He pulled back his hood to reveal a pair of flaming red eyes and a taught pale face. "It appears you have the ability to get a fairly large group of people together in a fairly short amount of time. Impressive." He stated as his cruel eyes scanned his potential victims like a customer in a butcher shop.

"However," he continued, "I do believe that I can do better." He murmured with a sick smile. He turned his back to Harry and walked over to Draco, grabbed his forearm and placed his finger on the mark. Draco flinched a little, but showed no facial expression. Harry found this a bit odd, considering that when Voldemort calls his followers through the mark, it generally is quite painful. This thought, however, was swept quickly from his mind and replaced with one of fear when his eyes perceived that an additional fifty or so death eaters had appeared out of thin air.

"They must have been using an invisibility charm or something." Murmured Ron in Harry's ear. Harry gulped and nodded. The odds were now not even close to being in their favor, nonetheless equal.

"We stand together!" Harry exclaimed to his troops, more for his own confidence then for theirs. Voldemort shook his head at him condescendingly.

"Poor naïve Harry," he clucked, "When will you learn that it is not whether you stand together, or what you stand for," with this he paused and drew Draco from the crowd and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It is who you stand _with!_" He hissed.

"And for you, unfortunately," he said, addressing Harry, as he walked in a circle around Draco, "You are not standing with the _right_ people." He stopped and stood behind Draco, placing a hand on each of Draco's shoulders as he said, 'right people.'

"It seems as if someone you usually stand with is not present? Where could the little mudblood be?"

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In the meantime, Ginny was asking herself the same question with different terms.

She was watching this all occur from Hermione's window in her room. She was waiting for Hermione, and she figured that that was the first place she would turn up.

Just that second, she heard a poof coming from the fireplace and footsteps running up the stairs.

Hermione burst into the room a second later, before she could even catch her breath Ginny had rushed over to her and was pushing her back towards the door.

"You've got to get down there!" yelled Ginny.

"Ginny!! I have something to tell you!" Hermione said breathlessly, "Wait, what are you doing in my room in the first place?" she asked as she broke away from her friend's grip and rushed towards the window to where Ginny had been standing a moment earlier. Her eyes glanced over the scene outside without much notice, but then she looked again and placed her hands against the window, staring down in disbelief. "What's going on!?" she exclaimed turning to Ginny and shaking her by the shoulders.

"No time, just get down there!" she exclaimed. Hermione made a move towards the stairs.

"No time! Walking, running, they aren't an option right now!" Ginny repeated pointing to Draco's room. Hermione turned to her friend.

"Damn it." She murmured, and with that, she ran into Draco's room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ah yes," Voldemort continued, "Your dear little mudblood ruined my plans. She did not realize that her sacrifice was of no consequential worth. Now, in addition to dooming herself, she sacrifices her friends to my wrath. Her rash, supposedly compassionate, action has only caused for Mister Malfoy to respond more quickly to the call that he was born to answer…"

This entire time Draco's mind was spinning around in circles. He had been under the Imperious curse for quite some time now, but there were still remnants of a functioning independent mind. He could easily break out of the curse, but he found no desire to. He was stuck, all the important decisions in his life had been made for him, so what was the difference of being under a spell or not? He tuned into what Voldemort was saying,

"His fate was to be a warrior to my cause. To marry Eustacia, to use his power for the annihilation of all that is impure, to use his powers-"

Draco tuned him out once more, thinking to himself as he had so many times before,

_No one can save me now. Oh well, maybe it's fate. No. It can't be fate. I don't now what my fate is, but it isn't this. _

Voldemort continued with his verbose declaration,

"His fate is to be-"

"To be with me!" shouted Hermione as she hurtled through the sky on Draco's broom, crashing roughly unto the ground at his feet.

It was only then that Draco's mind began to wrestle with the magical bonds that had been placed upon him. Voldemort must have sensed this, for he glided over and gripped Draco by the shoulders tightly.

"Will you let this wretched woman tell you what you're fate is?" he snarled in Draco's ear. Hermione looked up into Draco's eyes, the connection between them pulsed weakly.

"Will you let_ him_ tell you what your fate is?" she exclaimed as she moved to pick herself up from the ground and found she couldn't; she had broken her ankle when she hit the ground.

"He chose his path." Voldemort hissed back at her. Hermione shook her head and tried to penetrate the dullness and emotionless of Draco's eyes, it was clear a sparkle of independent thinking was still present. Hermione recognized the signs of the Imperious curse and now tried desperately to grab at her wand to end the spell.

Voldemort waved his hand, and the wand shot away from her fingertips just as she was about to grab it. He handed it to Draco, and pushed him towards her,

"Kill her!" he ordered, pointing at Hermione. Hermione stared into Draco's cool gray eyes, and could see them break through the first barrier of control.

"No." he whispered weakly. He was still struggling to break the curse. For a moment, Voldemort seemed to have a passing thought of failure flash in his eyes.

"This is your destiny-" he began to say, but Draco interrupted,

"No." he said, stronger this time. Hermione could see Draco on the brink of ending the spell.

"They never gave you a choice Draco, but I'm giving you a choice now." She said, looking between Voldemort and Draco, "Eustacia is not the one, I am. I was the other part of the prophecy." She said searching for a facial expression.

"Nonsense!" said Voldemort as he withdrew his wand and pointed it at Hermione.

"Than why are you withdrawing your wand now? Are you nervous that you could have been wrong?" she questioned him with a spontaneous confidence that must have been a side affect of the adrenaline pumping through her body, "You made a mistake."

"Prove it." He hissed with a false sense of calm. Hermione turned her gaze towards Draco and locked her eyes with his.

_Draco, _she said in her mind, _can you hear me? _

_Yes. _

She could hear him respond weakly, still trying to break through the physical barriers of the Imperious curse. It was clear that whoever had placed him under this curse did not want him to make a move that was not commanded.

_Draco, I went to see a woman who told me that the dates of the prophecy must have been switched. Now everything makes sense: the constant urge to be near you, the powers, the fact that we are talking to each other without words right now… _Hermione paused, but Draco made no response so she continued,

_It's true I never gave you a choice, but destiny didn't give me a choice either. I fell in love with you Draco. We are meant to be together, and the power we have is what we can make the decision on. They never gave you a choice Draco. Your father never gave you a choice. Eustacia never gave you a choice. Voldemort never gave you a choice, but I'm giving you a choice right now. What side do we take? Good or evil?_

Draco made no response once again, but Hermione suddenly felt a rush of warm shivers pulse through her.

"It's your decision!" she cried from her spot on the ground, the wind rushing through her hair.

She was so involved in staring with desperate hope and confidence at Draco, that she failed to see Voldemort swish his wand. It wasn't until he muttered the words, 'Avada Kedarva,' that she realized what happened.

But she wasn't dead.

Why?

She felt strong arms wrapped around her and a head full of platinum blond hair next to hers. The curse had stopped in mid-air, right in front of her. Draco whipped out his wand and blasted the curse back towards Voldemort. He then grabbed Hermione from off the ground and ran towards Harry.

"Get to it Potter!" he yelled as Hermione and he skidded to a stop in front of the group. He knelt down and placed Hermione on the ground next to him, looking into her amber eyes.

"I choose you Hermione." He whispered as he grabbed her hands with his own. "Let's make a barrier to protect these guys, shall we?"

"Let's make it so our spells can penetrate it, but the death eaters can't." she said as she gripped his hands as if she would never let go.

"How do we do that?" he asked as he glanced nervously at the angry cloud of black, getting a little too close for comfort.

"I'm not sure." She said as her attention was suddenly drawn to a huge cloud of curses descending upon them. Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and placed it over his shoulder so that she could stand without hurting her ankle. He grabbed her hand, and with his other, he grabbed Harry's.

"What in the hell?" Harry began to say, sending Malfoy an odd look.

"Just tell everyone to do it!" Draco demanded fiercely. Harry sent him a doubtful look as he yelled for everyone to grab hands.

As everyone did what they were told, an invisible barrier surrounded them all. About three malicious curses bounced right off and hurtled back towards their senders, knocking them over, dead.

Apparently about twenty other death eaters didn't notice that three of their friends had just killed themselves, so they did the same thing. The same result occurred.

"Well, this is a lot easier than I thought it would be." Chuckled Ron with a wink to Hermione. She sent him a reprimanding look.

"Ronald, this is not funny at all!" she said as five more death eaters managed to be hit and killed by their returning curses.

"It's appears I chose the intelligent side." Said Draco with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You seem to forget that with the dropping of one hand, this whole barrier is down and then we'll look like the stupid ones, and we'll be dead." Snapped Hermione, "No one let go!" she yelled to the congregation of people holding hands behind her.

"What if the other person's hand is sweaty?" asked Romilda Vane.

"Deal with it!" Hermione answered.

"Voldemort's dedicated followers are retreating." Dumbledore stated from the back.

And indeed they were. About forty of them were rushing towards the gate, leaving Voldemort with a handful of people. However, he appeared calm, with only a slight expression of frustration slapped across his hideous face.

"Harry, it's time for you to do your thing." Stated Draco, as he looked at his long time enemy.

"How? I don't want to risk the curse bouncing off the barrier and killing someone." He said as he continued to hold Draco and Ron's hand.

"We'll have to let go." Hermione stated plainly.

"On the count of three, everyone will let go of each other's hands and cast the expeliarmus charm towards the death eaters." Stated Dumbledore from the middle of the group. "Harry, you cast the spell that you are destined to cast."

Harry looked nervously from Dumbledore to Hermione and Ron.

"I don't know if I can do this." He said to them.

"You can." Answered Ron and Hermione.

"One," counted Dumbledore. Harry stared ahead with determination, an expression of anger beginning to show on his face. Memories of his parents, of Cedric Digory, of Sirius...they all began to flow through his mind…

"Two,"

Draco tightened his grip around Hermione's hand.

"I'm sorry for hurting you." He whispered.

"Me too." She responded.

"Three!" Dumbledore shouted. Everyone released their grip, shouted the incantation, and watched as bright light shot out of their wands, cut through the air, and struck the remainder of hooded figures defenseless.

Harry stepped forward and bellowed the two most unforgiveable words that one could say.

Voldemort, who had managed to retain his wand, expelled the very same curse at the same exact moment.

The two balls of shining green light connected and trapped Voldemort and Harry together in a situation similar to one three years ago that took place in a graveyard.

Harry's mind was racing, he didn't know what to do. Voldemort observed the lack of assurance in Harry's eyes, and mistook Harry's hesitation to kill as a weakness.

"I guess your hate just wasn't strong enough, Harry." He mocked, "Apparently, love is what will be the end of you. It was just too strong for you to overcome."

Harry thought for a moment. Love. It was the only difference between him and Voldemort.

"No, it'll be the end of you." He murmured under his breath as a wave of realization coursed through his mind.

"What?" Voldemort questioned. Harry appeared to struggle with a response. It seemed painful for the words to be exuded from his mouth. He finally looked up at the man who had taken so many people's lives, who had ruined Harry's life in so many aspects, taken those he loved away from him, and he managed to say three words with overwhelming compassion and pain,

"I forgive you."

Voldemort's expression of confusion was only evident for a moment before it was stripped from his face and replaced with an unresponsive mask of death. Both the curses had been hurtled back towards him, and his confusion had prevented him from defending himself.

"Love conquers all." Dumbledore stated as he walked over to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder as Harry stared in disbelief at the dead figure before him on the ground.

The remaining death eaters had ran from the grounds, leaving their fallen leader cold and alone on the grass.

Hermione instinctively moved to embrace Harry in a hug and she fell to the ground on account of her broken ankle. Harry reached down and hugged her from her spot on the grass.

Draco plopped down on the grass next to her and turned her face towards his. A smile was gracing his features and his cool gray eyes were clear as crystal.

"Thanks for not killing me when you were told to." She said placing her hand in his awkwardly. He shrugged and grabbed her other hand.

"Well, we _are_ destined to be together, and you're the only woman I can ever have sex with, so it would be stupid of me to kill you." He stated with a smirk. Hermione hit him in the shoulder.

"Hey!" she retorted.

"Come on, I was kidding." He said and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

As he was looking at her, his eyes suddenly lit up with awareness. "You made my dreams come true." He said softly. Hermione gave him a questioning look,

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I've had this recurring dream throughout the year, that right when I was about to marry Eustacia, you would fly down from the choir loft of the church and stop the ceremony from happening. Right when I had given up hope, right when I thought no one would save me, you burst onto the scene and rescued me."

He stopped and looked into Hermione's eyes.

Hermione stared right back, not knowing quite what to say. Draco smiled and kissed her passionately. Once they had pulled away, he gazed into her eyes and locked his mind with hers.

_I love you Hermione Granger, and I will until the day I die. It's true, I can be a pompous ass sometimes, and I can sometimes take things the wrong way, but I sincerely hope you don't mind being stuck to me for the rest of your life. _

He declared this with such sincerity, it made her veins burn.

_Only if you promise never to get mad and leave me again. _She said as she gazed into his perfect gray eyes.

"Deal." He said aloud pulling her into a warm hug.

"I love you Draco Malfoy." She whispered in his ear.

"And I love you Hermione Granger." Draco replied.

"Hey lovebirds!" called Blaise as he walked over with Ginny linked on his arm, "Let's break it up, you're causing a scene!"

Draco and Hermione glanced around and were keenly aware that all of the students and teachers were gazing at them with a mix of gratitude, confusion, disgust, and surprise. There was, however, one gaze that appeared to have expected it all. The half-moon glasses that were perched on his nose jiggled slightly as he chuckled at the young couple's blatant display of affection. Dumbledore smiled at Hermione and nodded at Draco before he went about the task of herding all the students inside.

Ginny, who had been watching this visual exchange the entire time, turned to Hermione,

"You mean he knew the entire time? And he didn't tell you? Aren't you a tad angry with him?" she asked.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders,

"I suppose I am, but at the same time, if anything different had happened, things wouldn't have ended up this way. And I'm quite happy about the way things ended up, aren't you?"

Ginny thought for a moment, and then nodded her head,

"Now we can finally go on a double date!"

Blaise laughed at his fiancée's response.

"Let's get Hermione's broken ankle fixed first." He suggested as Draco lifted her off the ground and cradled her in his arms.

"Aren't you happy the way things worked out?" she asked Draco. He shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant way,

"I suppose." He smirked. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.

"Will you ever give me a straight answer?" she asked as they got through the door of the castle.

"Maybe." He replied. Hermione sighed and looked up at the man she loved,

"Will you ever stop smirking and making sarcastic comments?" she asked with a small smile beginning to form on her face.

"Maybe."

"Will we ever have kids who could take over the world simply with their good looks and brain power?" she asked, her smile getting wider, at the amusement expressed in Draco's eyes.

"Maybe."

"Will we ever make this bond official?" she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Did you just ask me to marry you?" he inquired with a pleased look gracing his features.

"Did I?" she returned playfully.

"You did," he stated, "and as a matter of fact, so do I."

"What?"

"I do." He said as he admired the woman in his arms.

"Wait, did you just say yes to my proposal?" she wondered as she stared up into his face.

"Was it a proposal?" he questioned, his mouth beginning to form into a smile. Hermione beamed and looked to the side awkwardly,

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Then yes it is." He stated with a smile.

"Did I ever tell you that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen?" Hermione simply blushed.

"If you say things like that, you'll spoil me." She mumbled.

"If you marry me, princess, you are going to have to deal with being spoiled." He smirked as he kissed her on the forehead.

They walked in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company and listening to the beating of each other's hearts.

As they neared the hospital wing, they suddenly became aware of that familiar magnetic pull between them.

"Do you feel that?" she asked him with a sparkle in her eye.

"Yes," he answered, "And I'm so glad that I get to feel it forever."


End file.
